Radicals seek to spread threats to Central Asia, Russia via Afghanistan — Lavrov

The Russian foreign minister said the main threat comes from militants of the Islamic State-Khorasan Province group, a regional branch of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, which is outlawed in Russia

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Radicals seek to use Afghanistan as a springboard for spreading threats to Central Asia and Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"We take note of the fact that, according to available data, terrorist and extremist groups maintain a significant presence in Afghanistan’s areas bordering Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, where they have training camps and strongholds. Members of these groups seek to infiltrate Central Asian countries, particularly disguised as refugees and even tourists," he pointed out, addressing a conference on security issues in Central Asia and Afghanistan involving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

"According to our assessments based on intelligence data, the main threat comes from militants of the Islamic State-Khorasan Province group, a regional branch of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, which is outlawed in Russia. It openly pursues the goal of undermining the Kabul government’s ability to maintain stability in the country," Lavrov went on to say.

"Besides, radicals also seek to use Afghanistan as a kind of springboard for spreading terrorist activities to both Central Asia and Russia. The Terrorist International (I can think of no other way to describe it), which is based on the other bank of the Panj River unites militants of Central Asian, North Caucasian and Uyghur origin who gained combat experience in armed raids in the Middle East and Africa, as well as preachers of radical Islamic ideas, clandestine madrasas and propaganda resources in the information field, especially on social media," the top Russian diplomat added.

In his view, developments in Afghanistan could still negatively affect regional security, "particularly if unscrupulous external players use those processes to achieve their short-term goals, which certainly do not serve the interests of Central Asia and Russia."

"We try to remain realistic and thus realize that it will take a long time to overcome the unfortunate legacy left by the United States and other NATO countries following two decades of their inglorious occupation of Afghanistan," Lavrov concluded.

https://tass.com/politics/2202861