New Delhi [India]: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in his address at the 13th BRICS summit said that Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbouring countries and stressed that the US withdrawal has led to a new crisis in the region. Virtually speaking at the summit chaired by India, Putin said, “Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking.” “Outstanding regional conflicts have not stopped, on the contrary, they have erupted again becoming more violent. The US and its allies’ withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis and it’s still unclear how will this affect regional and global security,” he stressed. Putin added that Russia like its BRICS partners have consistently spoken for establishing a long-awaited peace and stability on Afghan soil. “The citizens of this country have fought for decades and deserve to exercise the right of defining what their state will look like on their own,” he noted. Putin also expressed his concerns for global security saying that it faced serious challenges and the system of strategic stability has gone all downhill. He also reiterated Russia’s contribution to enhancing cooperation with member states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the annual summit of BRICS leaders which was held under the theme ‘BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus’. Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping participated in the meeting.
