MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Russia is not going to take any measures while the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan is not influencing events in the territory of Moscow’s allies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday.
"As for the continued military action in the absence of the political process, then the events on Afghanistan’s territory concern us exclusively from the point of view of a possible spillover of troubles onto the territory of our allies," he said. "The fact that the Talibs have occupied border posts on the border with Iran, on the border with Tajikistan… while this is happening on Afghanistan’s territory, we’re not going to undertake any measures except for our insistent calls for the political process, which all Afghans have said they support, to happen as soon as possible," he added.
Earlier today, the TOLOnews TV channel, citing the acting head of a local customs service, reported that militants of the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) took control of checkpoints on the borders with Iran and Turkmenistan in Herat province.
Also today, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reported that the Taliban controlled about two-thirds of Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan.
On February 14, 2003, the Russian Supreme Court declared the Taliban a terrorist organization. The extremist organization’s activities are outlawed in Russia.