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Fight against Islamic state

Lavrov urges SCO role in fight against Islamic State in Afghanistan

The minister said IS was gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, including in the north of the country

© AP Photo/Dusan Vranic

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Islamic State victims

MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. Coordinated political assistance to restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan is one of the most topical tasks facing the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a high-level conference on security and stability in the SCO region.

"Weakening of state mechanisms has become nutrient medium for extremism and terrorist activity," Lavrov said. "Not so long ago, clandestine Al-Qaeda was seen as the main threat. Now Islamic State, operating not covertly but in the eyes of the whole world, is seizing weapons arsenals and oilfields, taking control of sizable territories, proclaiming them caliphate, and actively implanting its practices there," he said.

The minister said IS was gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, including in the north of the country. "In this condition, coordinated political assistance to restoration of peace and stability is one of the most pressing tasks facing the SCO," the top Russian diplomat said.

He said Moscow was ready to strengthen constructive cooperation with Kabul in all spheres, pointing that particular attention should be paid to cooperation on fight against drug plantations.

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Afghanistan Islamic State

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