TEHRAN, September 26. /TASS/. The military capabilities of the Afghan Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) have been growing, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said at multilateral consultations on the Afghan issue, being held in the Iranian capital of Tehran, which involve Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran and China.

"The Taliban’s growing military capabilities are worth mentioning, particularly their ability to carry out large-scale and well-prepared attacks on the country’s provincial centers," Patrushev stressed. In this regard, he mentioned Taliban’s well-coordinated attacks at the cities of Farah, Ghazni and Sar-e Pol.

"The Taliban’s military successes prove the futility of attempts to bet on the use of military force in persuading Afghanistan’s traditional opposition to negotiate," the Russian Security Council secretary said. "It can be stated that this is happening despite the United States 17-year military presence in Afghanistan," Patrushev added.