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US wants to create hotbeds of tension around the world, says security chief

In addition, the Russian security chief recalled that the Americans had contributed to the growth of drug trafficking in Afghanistan

MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Washington and its allies seek to maintain old and create new hotbeds of tension around the world, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said on Wednesday.

"Uniting our efforts in solving security tasks is especially important at the current stage, when the US and its allies are pursuing policies aimed at maintaining old or creating new hotbeds of tension around the world," he said at the fifth multilateral meeting of security envoys on the Afghan issue.

According to Patrushev, one of these hotbeds is Afghanistan, where "over 20 years of the presence of Western military contingents, preconditions for long-term challenges and threats" to the countries of the entire region have been consistently formed.

"In particular, the West indulged in stepping up the activities of international terrorist organizations, first of all ISIS (former name of IS, a terrorist organization banned in Russia - TASS) and al-Qaeda (outlawed in Russia - TASS), which swelled its ranks thanks to fighters from Iraq, Syria and some other countries. We all remember quite well the unmarked helicopters that delivered weapons and ammunition to the ISIS mercenaries in the American airspace control zone," he noted.

In addition, the Russian security chief recalled that the Americans had contributed to the growth of drug trafficking in Afghanistan. "Today the incumbent Kabul authorities are still reaping the fruits of the chaos left by the Americans, and the situation in the socio-economic sphere is rapidly deteriorating," he summarized.

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