Russia wants to upgrade cooperation with Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Removing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) from the blacklist is central to enhanced relations, says Russia.

But the goal of boosting cooperation could not be realised until IEA was delisted as an outlawed outfit, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Maria Zakharova was quoted by TASS news agency as saying on Wednesday that Russia, like other world powers, intended to develop practical cooperation with Afghanistan.

Moscow was eager to cooperate with Kabul on issues of mutual interest, including combating terrorist threats and drug trafficking, Zakharova added.

“However, it is obviously impossible to reach this aim without removing the terrorist tag from IEA,” the spokeswoman explained.

In this regard, she referred to a draft law submitted to the State Duma on November 25 this year.

The measure is seen as a significant step toward removing the interim Afghan government from the list of banned organisations.

PAN Monitor/mud

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