'Unhealthy Fantasies': Moscow Dismisses Claims of Building Taliban Training Base

Reports of an alleged deployment by Russia of a training base for Taliban (a terrorist group banned in Russia) militants in Afghanistan are "unhealthy fantasies," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some Afghan media outlets have circulated reports, citing police in the Afghan province of Kunduz, alleging the construction of a training base for Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan by Russia.

"I think, these are some really unhealthy fantasies, to say the least," ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing.

Zakharova reiterated that Moscow does not provide any assistance to Taliban.

"There are occasional contacts aimed at ensuring security of Russian citizens in Afghanistan, as well as at stimulating the process of national reconciliation," Zakharova added.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency. The instability has persisted in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

 

The lack of control and instability turned the country into home to the largest opium poppy production and distribution network in the world.