Russia's Putin, China's Jinping agree to step up efforts to counter Afghanistan 'threats'

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping recently agreed to step up efforts to counter “threats” emerging from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. According to Russian news agency Tass, Putin and Jinping spoke over a phone call to express readiness to boost efforts against the 'threats of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan'. The Kremlin said that the two leaders also spoke of the 'importance of establishing peace' in Afghanistan and 'preventing the spread of instability to adjacent regions'. 

As per the media agency, Putin and Jinping even agreed to engage in more bilateral contacts and closer coordination primarily through diplomatic agencies. They agreed to "make the most of the potential" of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that is due to convene for a summit in Tajikistan next month.

China, Russia on Taliban takeover 

Meanwhile, Moscow has been cautiously optimistic about the new leadership in Kabul. Russia has said that the Taliban had made Kabul safer in the first 24 hours than it had been under the Ghani government. However, Putin has still warned of Afghan militants entering neighbouring countries as refugees. 

Putin has criticised the involvement of outside powers in Afghanistan's domestic affairs. Russia, apart from China and Pakistan, has already offered friendly relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, in spite of the UN imploring nations to not do so. However, Russia is ready to supply weapons and military hardware to its allies in the CSTO security bloc that border Afghanistan at a special low price, Russia's deputy prime minister was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.

China, on the other hand, has said that it is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative relations" with Afghanistan. China supports forming of an “open and inclusive” government in Afghanistan with the consultations of other factions. A Chinese government official said that the insurgents must comply with their pledge of not permitting any terrorist forces especially the 'Uyghur militant group' from Xinjiang province, called the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). 

(Image: AP)