Russia to West: Unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets

KABUL (Pajhwok):  Russia has called for the release of Afghanistan’s reserves to finance humanitarian relief and prevent a looming exodus of migrants to Europe.

Zamir Kabulov, President Putin’s special envoy to Afghanistan, said Russia had warned the West the asset freeze could force thousands of Afghan families into migrating to Europe.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying: “The West is afraid of migration flows. So, let’s unfreeze Afghan money.”

He stressed: “We must do everything we can so there isn’t any need for hundreds of thousands of Afghan families to leave the country.”

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, the US and its allies froze the Afghan central bank’s assets worth $9.5 billion.

The Kremlin has since warned of proliferation of terror groups in the Afghanistan, including the Islamic State. The terrorists planned to sneak into former Soviet countries in the garb of refugees, it says.

The United Nations says 19 million Afghans are facing food shortages, with the winter forcing millions to choose between migration and starvation.

PAN Monitor/mud