IS, DRUG TRAFFICKING CONCERNS
Senior Russian officials, including Putin, have been voicing a slew of other security-related concerns since the Taliban wrested control of Afghanistan and foreign troops pulled out after nearly 20 years.
The Russian president cautioned last week that some 2,000 fighters loyal to the Islamic State had converged in northern Afghanistan, adding that their leaders planned to send them into neighbouring Central Asian countries disguised as refugees.
After the Taliban’s takeover, Russia ran military drills alongside ex-Soviet countries neighbouring Afghanistan.
Lavrov also warned that drug trafficking from Afghanistan had reached “unprecedented” levels, a concern since echoed by the Kremlin during meetings with other Central Asia countries and China.
Despite reaching out to the Taliban, Russian officials, including Putin, have in recent weeks made clear Moscow is not moving towards formal recognition of the Islamist regime.
“The official recognition is not being discussed and that has been stated publicly,” Lavrov said, but noted that Russia, like other countries in the region, maintains contact with the group.
In the 1980s, Moscow fought a disastrous decade-long war in Afghanistan that killed up to 2 million Afghans, forced 7 million more from their homes and led to the deaths of more than 14,000 Soviet troops.
For all the latest world News Click Here
