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Post-Soviet security bloc calls for early launch of inter-Afghan dialogue

The sides reaffirmed committement to the peaceful means

ASTANA, November 8. /TASS/. Leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member-countries have stressed that the situation in Afghanistan should be resolved exclusively by peaceful means.

"We are in favor of resolving the situation in Afghanistan exclusively by peaceful means, by launching an inter-Afghan dialogue at an early date with the use of the international platforms enjoying broad support and a high-priority role of the Moscow-format consultations on Afghanistan," reads the declaration signed following the summit in Astana.

The heads of state expressed concern over the deteriorating situation and the continued growth in drug production in Afghanistan and attempts by terrorists groups to gain a foothold in the country’s northern provinces. "Considering moving towards a world free of drugs to be our strategic task, we are in favor of strengthening the anti-drug international legal regime to counter the emergence of new psychoactive substances, while vigorously countering the coalescence of terrorism and drug crimes," the document reads.