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CSTO countries call for more substantive dialogue with IEA: Lavrov
“The Taliban (IEA) government is working to eliminate these terrorist groups. We consider it a matter of principle to help it in that struggle,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that the members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) stand for developing a more regular, sustainable and substantive dialogue with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference after a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
He said that Afghanistan is still a source of security threat, as there are cells and combat-ready groups of Daesh, al Qaeda and affiliated organizations.
“The Taliban (IEA) government is working to eliminate these terrorist groups. We consider it a matter of principle to help it in that struggle,” he said.
Lavrov emphasized that CSTO countries “stand for developing a more regular, sustainable and substantive dialogue with the Taliban (IEA), who effectively control the country, for implementing concrete projects.”
He also said that a draft program to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border will be submitted for approval to the CSTO heads of state.
The Islamic Emirate has previously dismissed the security concerns of the countries over Afghanistan, saying that there is no terrorist group in Afghanistan.
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