BISHKEK (TCA) — The Russian Foreign Ministry on March 10 said that accusations of Russia’s support of the Taliban in Afghanistan through arms supplies are “absurd”, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported.
The ministry said that its attention was drawn to the accusations against Russia made recently by the representatives of the command of foreign military contingents stationed in Afghanistan, as well as by some Afghan officials about the alleged support of the Taliban movement by Moscow.
“The Russian side is being charged with the supply of weapons of war, financing the activities of this extremist organization and even assisting in the establishment of training camps for militants on the Afghan territory. All these accusations are not supported by any evidence,” the ministry said in a statement on March 10.
The ministry stressed that the allegations were a part of anti-Russian smear campaign.
“The distribution of such absurd inventions revealed a staged campaign to discredit our country, during which the Afghan and world community is thrown the thesis of Russia ‘undermining’ international anti-terrorist efforts in Afghanistan,” the ministry said.
It maintained that the aim of the campaign is to “divert attention from accountability for the numerous mistakes made in more than 16 years of foreign military presence in Afghanistan.”
Some Afghan media outlets have circulated reports, citing police in Afghan province of Kunduz, alleging the construction of a training base for Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan by Russia. On March 2, the Russian Foreign Ministry refuted these reports and described them as “unhealthy fantasies”.
Moscow’s aim in contacts with the fundamentalist Taliban movement in Afghanistan is to encourage its members to join national reconciliation efforts and ensure the safety of Russian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“The limited contacts with The Taliban Movement (banned in Russia) are subject to the task of ensuring the safety of Russian citizens in Afghanistan and are aimed at encouraging The Taliban Movement to join the national reconciliation process under the leadership of Kabul,” the ministry said.
