Northern Afghanistan is home to at least 2,000 fighters from the jihadist group Islamic State, which has ambitions to expand into Central Asia, Russia's area of influence, Vladimir Putin said on Friday (October 15th).
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The Russian president noted that a multitude of "
extremist and terrorist
" groups are active in northern Afghanistan, including ISIS, Al-Qaida and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
“
According to our information, the number of IS fighters is around 2,000, their leaders are preparing plans to expand their influence in the countries of Central Asia and Russian regions by stoking ethno-confessional conflicts and religious hatred
», He said, during a virtual summit of the countries of the CIS, an organization of ex-Soviet countries.
The whole destabilized region
The Islamic State - Khorasan (IS-K), the most radical armed Islamist group in Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks intended to destabilize the “
emirate
” proclaimed by the Taliban.
Russia is worried about the escalation of attacks, fearing that the entire region, located on its southern flank, could be destabilized.
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Putin expressed his concern for the first time this week, noting that hardened jihadists from Syria and Iraq were arriving in Afghanistan.
Moscow considers the Taliban to be an extremist organization but has nevertheless maintained relations with them for many years.
Its emissaries are due to attend a first international meeting in Russia on October 20.
Representatives from China, Iran, Pakistan and India are also expected, and Kremlin envoy Zamir Kabulov, who will head the Russian delegation, assured that the United States was "
guests
”.
"Normalize the situation" in Afghanistan
It will notably be a question of means of "
normalizing the situation
" in Afghanistan, according to the Russian president.
Russia wants the Taliban to open their government to other forces to facilitate reconciliation and combat groups like ISIS.
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Twenty years after being ousted from power by the United States, the Taliban made a dramatic return to the country's helm in August, in the wake of the US military withdrawal.
Russia is taking a keen interest in the situation in Afghanistan, a country occupied by Soviet forces for 10 years until their withdrawal in 1989 after a bloody war.