Afghanistan Taliban
Central Asian countries should be prepared to deal with terrorists infiltrating from Afghanistan, says Russian Defence Minister
Moscow/UNI: With the Taliban taking control of the length of Afghanistan’s border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) must be prepared against the threat of drug smugglers and terrorists infiltrating their territories, the Russian Defence Minister has said.
Sergey Shoygu, speaking at a forum titled "Territory of Senses" in Moscow on Tuesday, said the Taliban have captured Kunduz province, which is a large and important center in Afghanistan.
He said the CSTO countries should be prepared to deal with the threat of drug smugglers and terrorists in Afghanistan infiltrating Russia through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Turkish news agency Anadolu quoted him as saying.
He said that Russian, Tajik, and Uzbek armies had conducted joint drills near the Afghan border, and added that Moscow will continue to hold such exercises with its Central Asian allies in the region on a regular basis.
The joint drills conducted by troops from the three countries on Tuesday was aimed at responding to the aggravated situation in the region and repel terrorist threats from neighboring Afghanistan.
Earlier, in a statement Shoygu had said Russia will use its military bases in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in case of direct aggression from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, senior representatives from Russia, China, the US, and Pakistan are holding Afghan peace talks in Doha.
The CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia that consists of selected post-Soviet states.
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