Moscow will continue to help mediate the crisis in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2020) Moscow will continue to help mediate the crisis in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"Much attention was paid to the situation in Afghanistan, we expressed our concern about the presence of militants from international terrorist organizations in the northern Afghan provinces, in fact, on the border with Tajikistan and our other Central Asian partners," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.
The sides agreed on the readiness to contribute to the peace and security in the country, according to tot the minister.
"We confirmed our readiness to contribute to the peace process in this long-suffering country, including using the Moscow format, using the capabilities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] SCO-Afghanistan contact group,"
On Saturday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced that the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan took the lives of more than 3,000 civilians and resulted in almost 7,000 people getting injured last year, saying that 2019 marked the sixth year in a row when the number of civilian casualties in the conflict surpassed 10,000.
The UNAMA has published its data as the United States and the Taliban movement reached an accord on a week-long reduction of violence in Afghanistan, which, if successful, will lead to the signing of a peace agreement on February 29.
In its negotiations with the United States, the Taliban has been seeking to ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees that the country will not become a safe haven for terrorists.
