MOSCOW, July 7/ Radio Sputnik. Russia is ready to use the capabilities of the 201st military base in Tajikistan to protect its allies in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Laos, RIA Novosti reports.
This is how he answered a question from journalists about the possible reaction of Moscow against the background of the deterioration of the situation in the Islamic Republic.
Lavrov also recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks with the leaders of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and is in contact with the heads of other Central Asian republics in connection with the difficult situation.
At the same time, the obligations of the Russian side within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) they remain in force, the minister stressed. He added that representatives of the organization's secretariat have already visited the border area.
The Russian Foreign Minister added that Moscow is closely monitoring what is happening in Afghanistan, where there is a tendency to worsen the situation, including due to the hasty withdrawal of American and other NATO troops.
In Afghanistan, there is a confrontation between government forces and the Taliban, who have occupied significant territories in rural areas and launched an offensive on major cities in the north of the country. The UN stated that the Taliban had captured 50 districts out of 370, the Taliban themselves claimed that they already control 70% of the border with Tajikistan.
The escalation continues against the background of the withdrawal of NATO and US troops, which began in April. Initially, it was planned that all foreign troops would leave the republic by May 1, as the agreement signed in Qatar in February 2020 suggested. Later, US President Joe Biden said that the withdrawal of US troops is planned to be completed by September 11.
Against this background, the inter-Afghan peace talks on a political settlement that were launched in Qatar have actually been suspended. Signed in Doha in 2020, the first peace agreement in more than 18 years of war provides for the withdrawal of foreign troops and the exchange of prisoners.
The day before, Sputnik radio reported that the Russian military in Tajikistan checked the combat readiness of S-300 missile systems against the background of tension on the country's border with Afghanistan.
