The Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani reacted to the recent concerns of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and added that there is no threat from Afghanistan’s borders to the countries of the region.
Khaama Press says Inamullah Samangani said in a voice clip on December 28 that there is latterly neither potential nor a de facto threat from Afghanistan’s border to any other country.
“As we have assured security inside Afghanistan, the borders of Afghanistan are likewise well protected and are under surveillance. Rumors over Potential threats from our borders are baseless,” said Samangani.
Recall, President Emomali Rahmon, who was on a working visit to St. Petersburg for participation in a CIS informal summit, on December 27 met there with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss cooperation.
The Kremlin says that in the course of the talks, Putin noted that the situation on the border with Afghanistan causes alarm and concern. “These are objective circumstances, and I share your concern about it,” the Russian leader was cited as saying by the Kremlin.
He reportedly noted that Russia is actively working on improving Tajikistan’s defensive capacities. “Based on our agreements, we recently shipped new weapons and other equipment to strengthen the country’s armed forces so that Tajikistan can efficiently resist any threats that come from the outside,” Putin said, noting that the Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is still being developed and is one of the major security elements in the region.
Vladimir Putin’s concerns over insecurity on Afghanistan’s borders with Central Asian nations are not new; earlier, he had expressed some concerns and had discussed the issue with leaders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
The Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has conducted a number military exercises in Tajikistan not far from the Afghan border.