MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The United States’ actions in Afghanistan have caused a huge problem not for Washington itself, but for all other countries in the first instance, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Channel One on Thursday.
"The result [of the US mission in Afghanistan] is zero in terms of its declared objectives, but from the viewpoint of real life, which Washington needs to return to, this is a huge problem not for them [the Americans], but for all of us in the first instance," she said. "The talks held in Dushanbe were dedicated to that. These are the CSTO and the SCO, which unite the countries of the region, not only the countries neighboring Afghanistan, but the region as a whole."
After the US announced the end of its operation in Afghanistan and the beginning of its troop withdrawal, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban militants swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, establishing full control over the country’s capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. On September 6, the Taliban said they had taken control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, and on September 7, they announced that an interim government had been formed.