New Afghan Gov't Fighting Terrorism, Yet to Deliver on Anti-Drug Promises - Russian Envoy

The presidential envoy called out the US and NATO for interfering with the new Afghan government's efforts to wage a "war on drugs".

While the efforts of the new Afghan authorities to crack down on drug production in the country are yet to bear fruit, they are not the ones to blame, argued Zamir Kabulov, Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan.

Responding to a question from Sputnik Afghanistan following the public part of the "Moscow format” international conference on Afghanistan, Kabulov explained that the United States and NATO limit the new Taliban* government’s “financial capabilities”, and that the country’s population, lacking other means to sustain themselves, often have to resort to getting involved in the drug trade.

This situation essentially results in the new government not fulfilling their promises on fighting drugs, Kabulov claimed.

He added that, unlike the US and NATO forces which occupied Afghanistan for 20 years, the Taliban government is trying to fight terrorism.

When asked about when the Russian consulate is going to open in the country, Kabulov replied that it is being prepared and that the consul has already been appointed.

As for the prospects of the Taliban representatives participating in the next meeting of the Moscow Format dialogue on Afghanistan, Kabulov said that this decision – as well as the decision on when that meeting might take place - would be made by the current participants of that dialogue.

The Moscow Format was created in 2017 as a consultation mechanism of the special representatives of Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Afghanistan, which is a regular member of the format, is not participating in the conference this time.

On November 16, Kabulov said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to participate in the Moscow-hosted conference.

The Taliban movement seized power in Afghanistan in August 2022 amid the rapid withdrawal of occupying US forces from the country.

*the Taliban movement is subjected to UN sanctions for terrorist activities