MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. Afghanistan has no data that would prove allegations of Russia’s supporting the Taliban, Afghan president’s National Security Adviser Mohammad Atmar told reporters on Thursday.
"There are quite a lot of misinformation, accusations and allegations from all sides. There are those who make such allegations that Russia is supporting Taliban. But there are others, who make allegations that American helicopters are bringing DAESH (Islamic State) and terrorists," Mohammad Atmar said.
"We have evidence of nothing of these two," he added. He said Afghanistan had proposed creating a multi-lateral commission to look into reports about alleged support for militants from abroad.
"We can discuss the format of this. The purpose is that all of these partners should come together to find out what the truth is," the adviser added.
"Many said that this is a good proposal, but not yet an agreement has been reached," he said.
Reports alleging that Russia is supplying weapons, fuel and finance to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan appear in US media on a regular basis. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly dismissed these allegations as untrue.
"The Taliban (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) talks about the withdrawal of the foreign troops. We have already signed an agreement on that," Mohammad Atmar said.
"We are saying to the Taliban, that the withdrawal of foreign troops should be achieved through peace, it should be the goal of negotiation, not a precondition," he went on.
He also stressed that the government of Afghanistan insists on Taliban’s breaking off contacts with all terrorist groups, but says that the doors for peace negotiations are open.
"Wherever the Taliban will take advantage of these opportunities or not, we will see it in the coming weeks. They will be making a big mistake, if they fail to take advantage of this," Atmar stressed.
He also said he discussed a peace process in Afghanistan when he met with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev on Wednesday.
"Russia has a significant role, and I discussed it a number of times with mister Patrushev. We discussed the issue, in which I made Afghanistan’s desire known to him. That if you have contacts with the Taliban, please use these contacts for promotion of peace talks," he went on.
"The Taliban should not be in to use such contacts for war. They should be encouraged, put under pressure to come to these talks. Mr. Patrushev fully supported this position, for which we are very much grateful," the security adviser added.
"The Taliban (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) talks about the withdrawal of the foreign troops. We have already signed an agreement on that," Mohammad Atmar said.
"We are saying to the Taliban, that the withdrawal of foreign troops should be achieved through peace, it should be the goal of negotiation, not a precondition," he went on.
He also stressed that the government of Afghanistan insists on Taliban’s breaking off contacts with all terrorist groups, but says that the doors for peace negotiations are open.
"Wherever the Taliban will take advantage of these opportunities or not, we will see it in the coming weeks. They will be making a big mistake, if they fail to take advantage of this," Atmar stressed.
He also said he discussed a peace process in Afghanistan when he met with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev on Wednesday.
"Russia has a significant role, and I discussed it a number of times with mister Patrushev. We discussed the issue, in which I made Afghanistan’s desire known to him. That if you have contacts with the Taliban, please use these contacts for promotion of peace talks," he went on.
"The Taliban should not be in to use such contacts for war. They should be encouraged, put under pressure to come to these talks. Mr. Patrushev fully supported this position, for which we are very much grateful," the security adviser added.
A meeting of security chiefs from Russia and some Central Asian countries in Moscow has become a milestone in fight against terrorist challenges and drug crimes, he went on.
"This was a very important meeting, because this was the first time that the Central Asia, Russia and Afghanistan came together to discuss their common threats and challenges," the adviser said.
He noted that Afghanistan, Russia and Central Asian nations are facing common terrorist threats, including from Islamic State (IS, a terrorist group outlawed in Russia). "Yesterday was the first time that we discussed these common threats and Afghanistan made proposals as to how to move ahead to cooperate to address these threats," he went on to say.
"Afghanistan proposals were very well received by Russia and Central Asia," he said. "The meeting was an important step forward and I’m extremely pleased with the outcome. We will be following these initiatives and the agreements we reached," Mohammad Atmar said.
On Wednesday, the chiefs of the security councils of Russia, as well as some Central Asian states (Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) held talks in Moscow, focusing on fight against terrorism. Russia was represented by Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, while Mohammad Atmar represented Afghanistan.
The participants "emphasized the need to boost regional cooperation on Afghanistan-related issues, discussed the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, touched upon national reconciliation in Afghanistan and protection of all Afghan ethnic groups’ interests," said the press release of the Security Council.
"[Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay] Patrushev expressed the hope that the practice of such meetings would continue in the future and would allow to enhance practical interaction and to join efforts in the security sphere," the press service said.
Apart from the talks, Patrushev held a separate meeting with Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor Mohammad Atmar.