DUSHANBE, June 6. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday said that the US provides strong support to the Islamic State (banned in Russia) and al-Qaeda (banned in Russia) in Afghanistan.

The minister made the remarks during a visit to a Russian military base in Tajikistan, according to a statement on the ministry’s website. He first called attention to the statement of the US Ambassador to Tajikistan Manuel Micaller that Washington does not support violent groups opposing the Taliban (banned in Russia) and calls on all sides in Afghanistan to engage in dialogue.

Then he said, "These are, in the language of diplomacy, false statements. It is well known that the US actively supports IS militants remaining in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda and other affiliated terrorist groups. The goal is simple. Just like they did in other cases in the Caucasus at the end of the last decade, the goal is not to allow Afghanistan to calm down. It is in the interests of the United States to have some destabilizing processes constantly taking place there."

"It is not by chance that they do not give up the idea of returning their military infrastructure to the neighboring countries. As if to react to terrorist threats beyond the horizon," the minister continued.