MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Russia is calling on Western states, namely the United Kingdom and New Zealand, to stop hiding data on military crimes in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.
"We strongly condemn crimes against civilians in Afghanistan. We are urging the authorities of Britain and New Zealand to complete the investigation, bring those behind them [the crimes] to justice and stop hiding this data," the diplomat stressed.
Zakharova emphasized that Moscow demands that the command of foreign military contingents deployed to Afghanistan take exhaustive measures on preventing crimes against civilians in the future. "We are convinced that without restoring justice it will be difficult to expect victory in combating international terrorism," the diplomat noted.
"There is such an impression that a breeding ground for the above mentioned crimes was the disregard of local population, as if they are not those people for the sake of whom international forces were deployed to carry out operations to ensure stability, security and combat terrorism, but as if these are second-class people, whose lives can be sacrificed for the sake of one’s own political or other interests," she stated.