Russia again calls for release of Afghan assets

KABUL (Pajhwok): Russian has underlined the need for the release of Afghanistan’s foreign assets frozen by the Biden administration.

“On our part, we again drew attention to the need to unlock the national assets [of Afghanistan],” a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said. Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Ivan Nechaev said this while commenting on the results of the international conference on Afghanistan in Tashkent.

TASS news agency quoted the spokesman as saying the illegal blocking of the Afghan funds by the US and its allies impeded efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan.

At the Tashkent conference, the Russian special representative also called the immediate release of the Afghan assets should be unfrozen.

Zamir Kabulov told the participants of the event Russia supported the Islamic Emirate’s request for the return of the Afghanistan’s assets. The diplomat slammed the seizure as a robbery.

“Russia wholeheartedly agrees with the desire of Amir Khan Muttaqi, the IEA minister of foreign affairs, who has demanded the unconditional return of the funds.”

Similar calls were issued by China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and several other nations and international institutions during the conference and before.

PAN Monitor/mud