MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have voiced concern about the Islamic State terror group (IS, outlawed in Russia) maintaining a strong position in Afghanistan, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
"The meeting’s participants and the president [of Russia] in his address voiced a common concern about the fact that ISIL (the former name of the Islamic State group - TASS) maintains quite a strong position in Afghanistan. It is another very dangerous trend, which poses a threat to the CSTO region," the Russian presidential spokesman pointed out.
The Russian president emphasized the need to coordinate approaches to the Afghan issue within the UN Security Council and the G20 group. "In general, there is an understanding — and President Putin highlighted that in his address - of the need for coordinated approaches to the Afghan issue within the United Nations, the UN Security Council and the G20," he said.
Peskov added that Putin had briefed other participants on his telephone conversations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. "Afghanistan was certainly high on the agenda of President Putin’s talks with German Chancellor Merkel," Peskov noted.