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Settlement of Afghan refugees in Central Asia can’t be ruled out — Russian diplomat

"The right to decide what to do with Afghan refugees lies primarily with the countries of the region," Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko noted

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. The settlement of refugees from Afghanistan in Central Asia for humanitarian reasons cannot be ruled out but it is up to the regional countries to make the decision, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with TASS.

"The right to decide what to do with Afghan refugees lies primarily with the countries of the region. Indeed, they expressed concerns about the refugee surge potentially leading to an increase in terrorist threat risks," the deputy minister said. "Therefore, they treated this topic very seriously. Nevertheless, as far as I understand, cases of settlement of certain categories of Afghan refugees for humanitarian reasons cannot be ruled out. However, I reiterate that this is the competence of the Central Asian states."

The Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched a large-scale operation for control of Afghanistan after the United States declared its troop pullout earlier this year. On August 15, Afghanistan’s then-President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country, while the Taliban swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance. In early September, the Taliban declared that the entire territory of the county was under their control and formed an interim government.