Russia: Deliberate attempts escalating tension in Asia

as narrow-format alliances and military blocs stick to a policy of containment, the Russian foreign minister warns.

Moscow sees attempts to destabilize the geopolitical situation in Asia made by military and narrow political structures which impede interstate interaction in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday at a meeting of the top diplomats of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia’s member countries.

“Unfortunately, the geopolitical situation in the region is not getting better, restraining a transition to comprehensive multilateral cooperation and integration. We see deliberate attempts to escalate the situation, undermine the existing mechanisms of interstate interaction,” the top diplomat noted.

According to Lavrov, some narrow political structures and military blocs, sticking to the logic of the cold war and a policy of containment, “contribute to the destabilization of the situation in Asia.”

Lavrov stressed the importance of preventing weapons and military equipment remaining in Afghanistan after the US-led NATO pullout from being used for destructive purposes.

“NATO’s hasty withdrawal has further confused the web of Afghan contradictions. There are a lot of weapons and military equipment left in the country. It is of great importance that they are not used for destructive purposes,” the top diplomat stated.

“The Taliban stated that they intend to combat drug trafficking and terrorism, do not create instability in neighboring states, strive for establishing the inclusive government. It is paramount to fulfill all these promises,” Lavrov added.

NATO avoids responsibility for its twenty-year presence in Afghanistan, inviting the republic’s neighbors to solve the existing problems, he said.

“Along the same lines, one can note NATO’s desire to redeploy forces to other zones of the region such as Central, South or Southeast Asia, and also send Afghan refugees there. The alliance avoids responsibility for the consequences brought by its twenty years of experiments. The global community, especially Afghanistan’s neighbors, is invited to tackle the problems,” Lavrov continued.

The Taliban embarked on a large-scale operation to take control of Afghanistan after the US had announced its intention to withdraw its forces in the spring. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, with Afghanistan’s then President Ashraf Ghani subsequently fleeing the country. On September 6, the Taliban gained full control over Afghanistan, and on September 7, the radicals announced the new interim government.