DUSHANBE, September 15. /TASS/. Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) expect that the rights of all citizens of Afghanistan, especially women and media representatives, will be respected, reads the statement signed following a meeting of the organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers.
"The CSTO states are keeping a close eye on the developments in Afghanistan and around it. <…> The CSTO member states are concerned about the current situation and expect that statements from Kabul made after August 15, 2021, about the observance of fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghan citizens, especially women, representatives of the media and civil society, will be translated into subsequent practical steps," the statement said.
The CSTO countries also called on all Afghan ethno-confessional groups to refrain from armed confrontation, take the necessary measures to normalize the situation, save civilian lives, restore peace, economic development, counter terrorism, extremism and drug-related crime.
They spoke in favor of a "sustainable intra-Afghan peace process in the interests of the early formation of an inclusive government with the participation of all social and ethnopolitical forces of the country, including representatives of ethnic minorities," and hammering out agreements on Afghanistan’s development.
After the US announced the end of its operation in Afghanistan and the beginning of its troop withdrawal, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban militants swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, establishing full control over the country’s capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. On September 6, the Taliban said they had taken control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, and on September 7, they announced that an interim government had been formed.