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Russia's top diplomat points to Kabul bombing as sign to abandon double standards

Sergey Lavrov has called to abandon any attempts to use anything happening around Afghanistan for geopolitical games

German and Afghan security officials inspect the scene of destruction caused by a suicide bomb attack in Kabul EPA/HEDAYATULLAH AMID

German and Afghan security officials inspect the scene of destruction caused by a suicide bomb attack in Kabul

© EPA/HEDAYATULLAH AMID

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. The blast that rocked Kabul’s diplomatic quarter is yet another wake-up call to abandon double standards, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today.

Read also

Kabul blast kills at least 80, leaves hundreds wounded — media

"The horrible terror attack is yet another ominous sign to abandon double standards, take full-scale coordination with all foreign players, bolster support for the Afghan government in its fight against terrorism and abandon any attempts to use anything happening around Afghanistan for geopolitical games," the minister said.

"All of this very negatively affects the fate of the Afghan people and attempts to overcome the current severe crisis," the top diplomat specified.

What’s in the sky?

According to the minister, the latest events in Kabul make what happens in Afghanistan’s airspace, that is totally controlled by Americans and their NATO counterparts, extremely important.

Read also

IS group claims responsibility for terror attack in downtown Kabul

"A couple of days ago Afghan MPs demanded an explanation of why unidentified helicopters flew to those regions controlled by extremists," the minister noted. "These helicopters were reported to have airdropped something in these areas and some were reported to have landed."

"All of this, no doubt, is questionable," Lavrov noted. "If this is another attempt to use extremists as temporary allies to achieve some goals, this is an absolutely shortsighted policy that had been used many times in Afghanistan and later in Iraq and other countries and led to the creation of powerful terror organizations."

Lavrov stressed that anyone wishing to help the Afghan people overcome their current hardships must operate in a transparent and open manner. "We hope that when Washington’s Afghan policy is formed, it will take into account the circumstances that I had mentioned along with those that have adverse effects on peace and stability in Afghanistan," the foreign minister concluded.

Terror attack in Kabul

At 08:00 local time (07:00 Moscow time), an explosion rocked Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, Wazir Akbar Khan, near the Embassy of Germany, where the diplomatic missions of Japan, Iran, India and some other countries are also situated.

The republic’s Health Ministry confirmed that 90 people had died and 380 people had been injured. Medical workers say the number of victims may increase. The injured, women and children among them, have been taken to Kabul hospitals, some of them in serious condition.

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Sergey Lavrov Afghanistan

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