MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Zamir Kabulov, Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan and director of the foreign ministry’s second Asia department, has called on the expert community to analyze the situation in Afghanistan dispassionately and admit that the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) are trying to respond to the most sensitive issues raised by the world community.
Speaking at a special session on the topic "Afghanistan in the system of regional relations" at the MGIMO-University on Friday, Kabulov noted that he had witnessed the Taliban’s coming to power for the first time in 1995.
"When I visited Afghanistan some two weeks ago, I spoke with the Afghan interim officials and watched what was going on in the city, and I had the chance to make a comparison: you know, the difference is very big," he noted. "Given the dissatisfaction of the world community, including us, with what is going on in Afghanistan, you can take it from me: the situation today is much better in many respects."
He admitted however that the situation requires thorough analysis. "I would call on all of us - practical diplomats and analysts - to analyze the facts dispassionately," he said. "I don’t like many things the Taliban are doing but judging not only by their words, I saw it with my own eyes that they are trying to react to the most sensitive issues and questions raised by the world community, although clumsily and not very skilfully. It concerns many things. The most pressing is the issue of negative situations around Afghan women."
"Anyway, we must not forget that we have our own cultural and other values we and colleagues in any other country are committed to, and while we can and must cherish them - we must not impose them," he stressed.
The special session on Afghanistan is being held as part of the 13th Convent of the Russian International Studies Association on the 30th anniversary of new Russia’s foreign policy.