SOCHI, September 11. /TASS/. Russia has streamlined its embassy staff in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a forum of modern journalism.

"Our embassy continues to operate, we have streamlined its staff. Almost all family members, namely women and children, have left. However, the ‘combat-capable’ members of the team are there, they are providing us with very useful information that we rely on during contacts with our foreign partners," he pointed out.

After the United States announced plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban embarked on a large-scale offensive operation and on September 6 announced that they had taken control of the entire country. The Taliban later formed an interim government that consists only of the movement’s members.