The latest developments in Afghanistan require close attention of both neighboring countries and international organizations, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said while delivering a statement at the 9th Moscow Conference on International Security, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
“It must be admitted that over 20 years of stay in Afghanistan, a significant military contingent of the Western alliance has failed to achieve significant results in stabilizing the situation in the country and forming sustainable public administration structures,” Shoigu said.
He further added that there was high probability that after the withdrawal of NATO forces [from Afghanistan] a civil war would resume in the country with all negative consequences: further deterioration in the life of the population; mass migration; and the spread of extremism to neighboring countries.
Since the beginning of NATO's official troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1, the Taliban militants have taken over more than 30 districts from Afghan forces, and the number is rapidly increasing. The Taliban are intensifying attacks across Afghanistan to gain more territory ahead of NATO's troop withdrawal in September. The militant group now controls vast swaths of land.
