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Afghanistan to be in the focus of Russian Security Council chief's visit to India

The consultations are a follow-up to the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 24, 2021

NEW DELHI, September 7. /TASS/. The situation in Afghanistan will be central to the agenda of Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev's visit to New Delhi, India's Foreign Ministry said on its website.

"At the invitation of National Security Adviser Shri Ajit K. Doval, KC, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, H.E. General Nikolay Patrushev is visiting India for High Level India-Russia Inter-Governmental Consultations on Afghanistan from 7-8 September 2021," the news release runs.

The consultations are a follow-up to the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 24, 2021. "The two leaders had expressed the view that it was important for the two strategic partners to work together and instructed their senior officials to remain in touch on Afghanistan," the Indian Foreign Ministry said. During his visit, the Russian Secretary of the Security Council is expected to call on the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] and the External Affairs Minister [Subramaniyam Shankar].

The Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched a massive operation for establishing control of Afghanistan after the United States last spring declared the intention to withdraw its armed forces. On August 15, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and left the country. The Taliban entered Kabul without encountering any resistance. The movement's leaders have proclaimed complete victory.