MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) Countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) need a common agreed stance amid risks in Afghanistan after "escape" of US forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"Now our organization is facing an acute task of pursuing a common, agreed line, taking into account the serious risks associated with the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan after the hasty withdrawal - well, it can be even called an escape - of the US forces and their NATO allies from this country," Putin told the SCO summit.
The Russian president called for using the SCO's potential "to provide all possible assistance to the start of an inclusive intra-Afghan peace process and at the same time to do everything to block the threats of terrorism, drug trafficking, religious extremism emanating from this country."
Putin mentioned that the Taliban (banned in Russia) controls almost the whole territory of Afghanistan and its necessary to stimulate new Afghan authorities "to fulfill their own promises" about peace and normalization of social life.
"And in this regard, it would be possible to work out the issue of resuming the activities of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, which was just created to work with Afghan partners," Putin added.
