UN Security Council to ease aid to Afghanistan
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The resolution aims to permit humanitarian relief to the country while keeping funding unreachable to the Taliban.
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Afghan families collect food in Kabuk (AFP)
The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution proposed by the United States on Wednesday permitting humanitarian relief to Afghanistan.
The nation is on the brink of economic collapse, and the resolution will aim to keep funding inaccessible to the Taliban.
According to the resolution, "payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such assistance or to support such activities are permitted."
The resolution detailed that the assistance does not violate sanctions on the Taliban and "supports human needs in Afghanistan."
Some world leaders have voiced concerns regarding the humanitarian disaster amid an economic crisis in Afghanistan, in the midst of which the US froze $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.
Earlier, the US proposed to waive sanctions on a case-by-case basis, but the proposal was rejected by China and Russia.
China's UN ambassador, Zhang Jun, tweeted that "humanitarian aid and life-saving assistance must be able to reach the Afghan people without any hindrance."
Humanitarian aid and life-saving assistance should be able to reach the #Afghan people without any hindrance. Artificially created conditions or restrictions are not acceptable. https://t.co/g61ZOUtGyr
— Zhang Jun (@ChinaAmbUN) December 21, 2021
The restriction of the resolution to one year was aimed to appease the EU, who along with India questioned the lack of a deadline and sought strong supervision over the aid's destination.
West should bear full financial responsibility for Afghan situation
On December 17, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Sputnik that Western countries led by the US should bear full financial responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan, adding that Russia's focus is on providing humanitarian aid to the neighboring country.
The diplomat recalled Putin's words that "those who have been there for twenty years and drove the country to this state, they must bear the lion's share of financial responsibility."
"They — the West — froze Afghan assets, these are not the money of the Taliban, but the money of the Afghan people. And Russia now takes a highly moral position, we are already helping Afghanistan with humanitarian supplies," he added.
