Moscow, Aug 23: Russia has no plans of sending a military contingent to Afghanistan and the Taliban is in no need of military support, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Syromolotov told Sputnik. “Such phrasing of the question is not relevant,” Syromolotov said when asked about the possibility of Russia sending troops to Afghanistan. “Such a step would not be in our interests. In addition, the new Afghan authorities have started to restore order in the country and do not need anyone’s military support,” he added. The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resigned and fled the country to prevent what he described as bloodshed that would occur if the militants had to fight for the city. The chief of the political office of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, will likely announce the decision concerning the structure of the future Afghan government over the next two weeks, a source in the Taliban told Sputnik on Saturday. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper that there are no prerequisites for the entry of a Russian military contingent into Afghanistan, and Moscow plans to focus primarily on political and diplomatic efforts to establish an intra-Afghan dialogue and facilitate a peaceful resolution of all the problems Afghanistan currently faces.
