Afghanistan’s Partition Will Have Negative Consequences For Region, Says Russian Envoy

Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President's special envoy for Afghanistan, stated that any partition of Afghanistan would have negative consequences for the entire region.

Kabulov also mentioned that it is still too early to discuss removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist organisations.

He added that although Russia is moving towards removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups, it is still premature to talk about it.

On Saturday, during a television interview with Russia-24, Zamir Kabulov said that if the number of ISIS members during the US presence in Afghanistan was 10,000 to 12,000, this number has decreased to about 3,000 during the Taliban's rule.

He said that the Taliban cannot eradicate ISIS because the group receives foreign financial support. However, he did not provide further details about the sources of this financial support.

Earlier, Andrey Belousov, the Russian Defence Minister, described Afghanistan as a source of instability in Central Asia and said, "We are on the frontline."

On Friday, May 31, the Russian Defence Minister emphasised that the situation in Afghanistan requires strengthening the country's borders with Tajikistan and the region.

According to reports from Russian state news agencies, a proposal to remove the Taliban from the list of banned organisations in Russia was recently presented to Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President.

Kabulov said that if the Russian President accepts the proposal, "it will pave the way for recognition”.

However, he stressed that it is still too early to discuss this matter.

On May 28, while speaking to reporters in Tashkent, Putin mentioned that they are consulting with regional partners, including those in Central Asia, regarding relations with the Taliban. He mentioned that they take into account the views of each of their partners and friends and will coordinate accordingly on this matter.