TEHRAN, April 13. /TASS/. The United States and its allies must take the responsibility for the complicated situation in Afghanistan, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan said in a joint statement following an informal meeting in Samarkand.

"The ministers noted that the US and its allies should take the responsibility for the current difficult situation in Afghanistan, immediately lift the unilateral sanctions imposed on Afghanistan and return foreign [Afghan] assets," reads the statement, uploaded to the official Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan opposed the restoration of "military bases in and around Afghanistan" by the United States and its allies, because such activity "is not conducive to regional peace and stability."

In the spring of 2021, the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) launched a large-scale operation to eventually take control of Afghanistan after the US announced its decision to withdraw its military. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without encountering resistance and on September 7 they announced the composition of their provisional government, whose legitimacy has not been recognized by any country so far. The economic situation in Afghanistan remains extremely difficult largely because the new Afghan authorities have access to only a small part of the $9.4 billion state reserves. A significant part of these has been frozen by the US.