TASHKENT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2021) The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Kabul and the Consulate General in Mazar-i-Sharif are operating normally with staff remaining in place, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Yusup Kabulzhanov told Sputnik on Sunday.
"At the moment, the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Kabul and the Consulate General in Mazar-i-Sharif are operating, staff has not been evacuated, everyone is working as usual," Kabulzhanov said.
In the meantime, a group of Afghan nationals left the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge area, having returned to their country.
"As of 10.00 a.m. [05:00 GMT] on August 15, 2021, the situation in the area of the Termez-Hairatan bridge is calm. Afghan citizens who had gathered at the Afghan part of the bridge left the bridge and the adjacent territory on their own. This became possible due to the active political and diplomatic measures taken," the ministry wrote on Telegram.
In recent weeks, the situation in Afghanistan has aggravated with the offensive of the Taliban militants (recognized as terrorists in the Russian Federation and prohibited) on the country's large cities.
