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Developments in Afghanistan

Russia calls for unfreezing all assets from Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund — official

According to Maria Zakharova, Afghanistan needs funds to establish a normal economic life, restore civil infrastructure, and operate socially significant facilities

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Russia considers the measure to unfreeze part of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) insufficient and calls for the country to be given full access to these assets to the amount of $1.5 bln, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We support the decision of the World Bank to allocate $280 mln from the frozen funds of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to the UN World Food Program and UNICEF. However, we consider the measure to be insufficient and call for unfreezing the remaining funds, which amount to more than $1 bln, as soon as possible," she said.

According to Zakharova, Afghanistan needs funds to establish a normal economic life, restore civil infrastructure, and operate socially significant facilities.

The World Bank decided on December 2 to transfer $280 mln of frozen funds to support Afghanistan to two humanitarian aid agencies. The World Bank Council also discussed transferring up to $500 mln from the $1.5 bln of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to humanitarian aid agencies.

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Foreign policy Power transfer in Afghanistan

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