MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia does not concur with the idea that discussing developments in Afghanistan without having the United States at the table is an impossible or pointless exercise, Zamir Kabulov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department, said at a news briefing.
"I don’t quite agree with the idea that discussing anything in Afghanistan without the Americans is impossible or pointless. No, we disagree," the senior Russian diplomat stressed.
According to Kabulov, Russia hews to the position that, "the neighbors [of Afghanistan] as well as other regional countries are the key players, whose national interests and security, too, are closely related to the situation in Afghanistan." "Cooperation here may be based on <…> a regional approach only," he emphasized.
Kabulov urged addressing what he described as the moral, political and ethical issue of the US releasing Afghanistan’s frozen assets. "For stealing someone else’s money is a bad habit," Kabulov said as he recounted that Iran had been the first country to fall victim to this "lingering" US practice, which also affected Russia and now, finally, Afghanistan. "We are not going to put up with this," the diplomat insisted.
"We will be ready to treat the Americans as partners in efforts toward Afghan reconciliation should all of these major issues be resolved first," Kabulov concluded.