Russia says US mission in Afghan 'failed', blames 'hasty' drawdown for worsening situation

As the Taliban continues to make major advances in Afghanistan, Russia on July 16 said that the United States had failed in its mission in the war-torn country. According to reports, with the withdrawal of foreign troops, the insurgent group has successfully captured over two-thirds of the country including an arc of territory from the Iranian border in the west to the frontier with China on the other side of the country. While speaking to reporters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the White Hosue had tried to paint the drawdown of foreign troops in the “most positive colours”. 

"But everyone understands that the mission failed," Lavrov told reporters at a conference in Uzbekistan attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

‘Hasty withdrawal’ worsening security in Afghan

The Russian minister blamed the “hasty withdrawal” of US and NATO troops worsening security in Afghanistan and warned of instability spreading to neighbouring countries. Lavrov said that in recent days “we have unfortunately seen a rapid deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan”. He also added that in light of the hasty withdrawal of the US and NATO troops, there is “huge uncertainty” around the future of the political and military situation in this country. 

Moreover, Lavrov said that the crisis had increased the threat of terrorism and worsened problems surrounding drug trafficking, which he said had reached “an unprecedented level”. He went on to say that it is clear that in this situation, there is a “real risk” of instability spreading to neighbouring countries. It is worth noting that a top Russian official disclosed that militants have captured 2/3rd of the territory on the Afghan-Tajik border. 

Moscow is closely watching the Taliban's advancement and is concerned about the potential for instability reaching neighbouring ex-Soviet Central Asian countries where Russia maintains military bases. As per reports, earlier this week, ex-Soviet Tajikistan even said nearly 350 Afghan refugees had crossed its border fleeing Taliban advances. Russia's defence ministry, on the other hand, said this week it was staging military drills in Tajikistan where it has a base aimed at buttressing border security with Afghanistan.

Taliban visits Moscow 

Meanwhile, last week, Russia hosted Taliban representatives in Moscow, where the insurgent group claimed to have control over about 85 per cent of Afghanistan. According to AP, the delegation of the Taliban visited Moscow to offer assurances that their quick gains on the ground in Afghanistan do not threaten Russia or its allies in Central Asia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Kremlin envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, met with the Taliban delegation to express concern about the escalation and tensions in northern Afghanistan. The ministry said Kabulov urged the Taliban “to prevent them from spreading beyond the country’s borders”. 

“We received assurances from the Taliban that they wouldn’t violate the borders of Central Asian countries and also their guarantees of security for foreign diplomatic and consular missions in Afghanistan," the Russian ministry said.

(With inputs from AP)