Moscow: Documented information indicates US cooperation with ISIS in Afghanistan
Stressing that Moscow has enough documented information to conclude cooperation between the United States and ISIS elements, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman added that the country has already made them public and can be used by international organizations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow had repeatedly cited information that could lead to a conclusion about US involvement in the ISIS terrorist group in Afghanistan.
Asked if Moscow was releasing information about US involvement in ISIS, he said: “As for the facts, we have repeated them many times. However, we do not do this in the usual way of the Anglo-Saxon world, which involves showing test tubes to the UN Security Council, which is later deceived.
According to the Tass news agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman then stressed that this information is enough to conclude cooperation between the United States and ISIL elements, adding that Moscow has already made public the information it has and that international organizations, including the United Nations, can use it.
The Russian diplomat said Moscow was aware of unmanned helicopters flying over areas where ISIL operatives were active, especially in northern Afghanistan, where, according to Afghan sources, the terrorists were receiving reinforcements and removing the wounded and bodies.
He said such activities would not have been possible without the knowledge of US and NATO forces, which have full control over Afghanistan’s airspace.
Prior to Zakharova, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, had said that Moscow had received information about specific facts about the US-led coalition’s cooperation with ISIS in Afghanistan.
Recently, the ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for attacks in parts of Kabul, including the Presidential Palace.
On the morning of Tuesday, July 20, during Eid al-Adha prayers, several rockets hit various parts of Kabul, including near the Presidential Palace (Arg). At the time of the attack, Ashraf Ghani and a number of Afghan officials and personalities were praying Eid al-Adha at the Presidential Palace.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the US mission in Afghanistan as “failed” following the escalation of the situation in Afghanistan as US troops withdrew from the country.
“Despite US President Joe Biden’s efforts to show that they are leaving Afghanistan after the end of their mission, everyone realizes that the US mission in Afghanistan has failed,” he told reporters.
The head of Russia’s diplomatic service added that ISIL and al-Qaeda have strengthened their positions in Afghanistan and that drug production and trafficking in the country are at an all-time high.
The Russian diplomat went on to say that despite the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Moscow is ready to continue working with Washington and Beijing, as well as other countries that could influence the situation in Afghanistan. He added that Iran and India may be added to the “triangular framework” of countries to work on Afghanistan in the future.
Following the February 2020 agreement between the United States and the Taliban and the signing of a “peace agreement” between the two sides, the withdrawal of US troops and allies from Afghanistan began.
The United States and other NATO members invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States, and have continued their military presence and occupation in Afghanistan ever since.
