DOHA, July 1. /TASS/. Although still tense, the current security situation in Afghanistan has seriously improved since the country got rid of the Western occupation, Zamir Kabulov, an adviser to the Russian foreign minister and presidential envoy for Afghanistan, told TASS.
"Our ambassador [to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov] can tell more about this, but preliminarily, I can say that the situation, indeed, remains relatively tense. But it is much better than under the Western occupation. This is an important thing that need to be emphasized," he said after the UN-sponsored consultations of working groups on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital city.
According to the Russian diplomat, "the Afghan authorities are doing their best" amid the West’s economic and financial sanctions.
After the US administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, 2021, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. US troops left Afghanistan by early September 2021.
On April 17, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Prosecutor General’s motion to suspend the ban on Taliban activities in Russia. According to the Russian foreign ministry, removing the Taliban’s terrorist status clears the path for a full partnership with Kabul in the interests of the Russian and Afghan peoples.