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Monitoring Desk: The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov while addressing at Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday March 27, 2018 has said that Afghan conflict cannot be resolved by force and only solution left for peace is dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
He is of the view that the ideas of a military solution are divorced from historical experience and today’s reality.
“Only through the launch of a constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement it is possible to achieve genuine peace and stabilization,” maintained Lavrov.
He expressed his grave concern over spread of Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Afghanistan and said:
“Particularly disturbing is the expanding penetration of the so-called. “Islamic State”, especially in the northern provinces bordering on the CIS countries. There, strong points are being created, and people from Central Asia, Russia and other countries are trained. We see in this a direct threat to regional and international security”.
He was of the view that drugs business was on rise in Afghanistan, and Russia as well as Central Asian states were deeply concerned because drugs were ultimately effecting neighboring societies.
“Drug crime remains another serious challenge coming from Afghanistan. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, last year in Afghanistan record-breaking production of opium poppy was again recorded. Afghan heroin provides substantial financial “fueling” to terrorists and extremists both in Afghanistan itself and to an increasing extent far beyond its borders. All this urgently requires intensifying efforts to curb common threats to all of us, strengthening cooperation in the interests of the establishment of a peaceful, independent Afghanistan free of terrorism and drug trafficking,” added Lavrov.
Host President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was of the view that the regional cooperation including that of Pakistan, Iran and other neighboring countries is very important for bringing peace in Afghanistan. He was of the view that Afghan people should have their own voice and opinion in the future. He said that the regional cooperation including that of Pakistan, Iran and other neighboring countries is very important for bringing peace.
The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani while speaking at Conference said that military campaign against terrorists is (was) successful and large operations have been carried out in the past two weeks to eliminate threats. He said the fight against drug smuggling has also been enhanced.
President Ghani claimed that ISIS fighters in Afghanistan were not more than two thousands.
The Afghan president was of the view that ties need to be strengthened with regional countries in order to fight terrorism and Afghanistan will do everything to bring about peace. He stated that recent Kabul Process meeting had been a clear sign that Afghanistan wants to end the war and to show that international allies support government in its quest.
