Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin warned, ‘Russia has always supported the US military deployment in Afghanistan and will continue to support it. There is no threat to Russian interests because of US military deployment. The United States withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, may create risks.’ At the same time, President Putin said that the United States has also supplied valuable counter-terrorism information to Russia. This reaction of the Russian President becomes essential given the initiation of US military withdrawal and increase in the terrorist activities in Afghanistan.
The United States has started military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it is claimed that a minimum of 4,000 US soldiers has already returned to the homeland. While the United States is withdrawing its military from Afghanistan, an increase has been observed in the terror attacks in the country. The Afghan government and other international groups are expressing concerns that along with the Taliban, IS and other Pakistani terrorist groups are carrying out attacks in various provinces. Despite this, the United States is firm on military withdrawal. But now, Russian President Vladimir Putin has opposed the withdrawal.
Putin justified the US military deployment saying that the United States had declared war on terror in Afghanistan. Whereas, Russia has all along supported the US military withdrawal and had even voted in favour of the United States in the UN Security Council. Putin clarified in an interview with the government news channel that the US military deployment in Afghanistan is no threat to any of the Russian interests. The United States is making commendable efforts to establish peace and stability in Afghanistan. However, the Russian President warned that the US military withdrawal would create may risks.
The US presence has helped establish stability in Afghanistan. But following the US military withdrawal, major efforts will have to be taken to establish peace in Afghanistan. As a consequence, the stability in Afghanistan will be lost. Russia has never intended to fight the United States in Afghanistan. President Putin indicated that the complete US withdrawal would create risks to Russian security. At the same time, the Russian President informed that the United States, during the tenure of President Trump, helped Russia in counter-terrorism activities to a great extent. President Putin reminded that Russia was able to avert terrorist attacks because of the valuable inputs provided by the US intelligence agencies.
Meanwhile, only two days ago, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, also had given a very cautious reaction regarding the US withdrawal of troops. Stoltenberg stated that the negotiations in Qatar are welcome but the increase in the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan also could not be ignored. The NATO Secretary-General clarified that the situation in Afghanistan would also be discussed during the upcoming NATO meeting this week.
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