MOSCOW (Khaama Press) : Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigu, has claimed that the primary threats to the region originate from within Afghanistan.
He highlighted the escalating influence of international terrorist organizations within the country.
“The security of Russia’s CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] allies in Central Asia is a key priority for the work of Russia’s defence agencies. Today, the main challenges and threats to the region are emerging from within Afghanistan, which is seeing growth in the influence of international terrorist organizations after [the collapse of] the decades-old US protectorate,” Shoigu said at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, TASS news agency reported.
The defence chief pointed out that Western countries are intensifying their interaction with various ethnic-based, non-Pashtun armed groups.
According to Shoigu, their explicit intent is to create border conflicts and then offer military aid to neutralize the resulting turmoil, disregarding civilians and government stability.
“The intent of their actions is clear. On the one hand, a conflict hotspot is created in the border zones of our partners. On the other hand, military assistance is offered to neutralize the conflict [thus artificially created]. All the while, the interests of the civilian population and the stability of government authorities are not duly taken into account,” Shoigu added.
