Russia is ready to provide its civil aviation for the export of any number of Afghans from Afghanistan to other countries. This was announced on Thursday, August 19, by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
"In order to prevent the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, we are ready to provide Russian civil aviation services to ensure the flight of any number of Afghan citizens, including women and children, to any foreign countries that will show interest in receiving and accommodating them," the diplomat said at a briefing.
At the same time, Zakharova noted that about a hundred Russian citizens are registered as consulates at the embassy in Afghanistan.
These are mainly ethnic Afghans who at various times studied in Russia and the USSR, got families and received citizenship, and then returned to their historical homeland.
"The consular service of the embassy is focused on working with them and other appeals from Russian citizens," she said.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Embassy in Kabul called on Russians to inform about their desire to leave Afghanistan before August 22.
On August 15, representatives of the Taliban movement (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) entered Kabul, then announced the "end of the war" in Afghanistan, calling it the "liberation" of the country. Representatives of the radical movement said that they would soon announce the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and also demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.
The President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, resigned on the same day and left the country.
On August 16, the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said that about 50 people had applied to the Russian Embassy in Kabul with a request to help them leave Afghanistan for the Russian Federation due to the lack of flights.
He also noted that Russia intends to remove some of the employees of the diplomatic mission from Kabul. It was about those who go on vacation or go home after the end of a business trip.
The situation in the region began to worsen after the United States, which had been in Afghanistan since 2001, began withdrawing its troops in early May. It is planned to complete it by the end of August.
Due to the fact that local residents are trying to fly out of Afghanistan after the arrival of the Taliban, there has been chaos at the Kabul airport for several days. As a result of the stampede, at least 17 people were injured there.
