MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Moscow calls on Afghanistan's neighboring countries to prevent the military presence of the United States and NATO on their territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in a video address to participants in a ministerial meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries involving Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"We once again call on Afghanistan's neighboring countries to prevent the military presence of the US and NATO on their territory as those plan to move there in light of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan," he pointed out.

Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Yuri Kokov said earlier in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper that the US sought to gain a foothold in Afghanistan's neighboring countries under the guise of fighting against terrorist groups, by establishing bases to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles and set up centers to train local service members and law enforcement officers.

Situation in Afghanistan

After the United States announced plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on a large-scale operation to take the country under control. Taliban fighters swept into Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul on August 15, without encountering any resistance, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country. On September 7, the Taliban announced an interim government, which has not been recognized by any country yet.