TUNXI /China/, March 31. /TASS/. Russia is seriously concerned over Islamic State’s (outlawed in Russia) plans of the destabilization of the situation in Central Asia and export instability to Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"Of special concern are Islamic State’s and its allies’ plans of the destabilization of Central Asian countries and exporting this instability to Russia," he said at the third ministerial conference of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries (Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

Another alarming signal, in his words, is the reinforcement of Jamaat Ansarullah’s and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan’s (both outlawed in Russia) units near the Afghan-Tajik and Afghan-Uzbek border. "A serious factor of tension is the activities of international terrorist organizations, such as Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Jamaat Ansarullah, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Eastern Turkestan (all outlawed in Russia0 and others. Additional tensions are created by the activities of Panjshir guerillas from the National Resistance Front," he noted. "Despite the cessation of hostilities in general and a considerable decrease of losses among civilians, the situation in the country (Afghanistan - TASS) cannot be called stable.

After the Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country.

Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that under the constitution, he becomes "the caretaker president" in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban. The Taliban opponents organized resistance in the northern province of Panjshir. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once-influential leader of Afghanistan's Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.