MOSCOW: The situation in Afghanistan will deteriorate into a catastrophic scenario if the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) fail to normalize it, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Russian journalists on Wednesday at an annual meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
“This year, the situation in Afghanistan is particularly relevant because of the Taliban’s rise to power, which was a natural consequence of the 20-year irresponsible policy of the United States and its allies,” Patrushev specified, Russian TASS news agency reported.
“The situation unfolding today in Afghanistan is unprecedented both in military-political and socio-economic terms. If the new authorities in Kabul fail to normalize the situation, and the international community fails to provide effective support to the Afghan people, the scenario could become catastrophic, involving a new civil war, the general impoverishment of the population and famine,” the Russian security chief added. Patrushev said it was difficult to precisely predict what consequences the region would face, particularly CIS nations and the entire world under a negative development of the situation. “Surely, they would be extremely grave,” he stressed.
