New Delhi: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has discussed the worsening security situation in conflict-wracked Afghanistan with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
Doval held a conversation with Patrushev on the sidelines of Sanghai Cooperation Organization in the Tajik capital Dushanbe and exchanged views on Afghanistan and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
They exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and the broader Asia-Pacific region, said the Russian Council.
Doval, who was in Dushanbe for the SCO NSAs meeting over the last two days, discussed in detail “further plans of the Russia-India interaction in the security sphere, cooperation among the security and law-enforcement agencies,” the Council’s press office said.
Also, on Thursday at the Moscow Conference on International Security, Patrushev cautioned about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan as US and NATO troops withdraw, and said there would be an increase in terrorist activity there.
“The degradation of the situation in Afghanistan will contribute to an increase in the terrorist activity of Islamic State terror group and al-Qaeda in that country,” TASS quoted him as saying.
“We see the preconditions for an intensification of international terrorism in other areas as well.”
A day before, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the same conference warned that a civil war could erupt in Afghanistan following US-NATO troops pullout.
“Developments in Afghanistan require the special attention of both neighbouring countries and international organisations,” he said.
Since the start of US-NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1, the Taliban militants have taken over more than 30 districts from Afghan forces. The Taliban has intensified attacks across Afghanistan to gain more territory ahead of troop withdrawal in September 11.
According to Patrushev, Russia is in favour of launching a direct intra-Afghan dialogue with the assistance of international partners.
“We are actively involved in that process, in particular, through the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan.
Additionally, we will seek to use the capacity of cooperation mechanisms through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and other multilateral formats,” Patrushev said.
