Russia Fears Central Asia Turning into a Terror Sanctuary
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov expresses fears of the Central Asian region turning into a haven for secret terrorist activity, Russia conducts military exercises after conveying anxieties.
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Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov expressed Russian's fear of terrorism.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's second diplomat, expressed fear of Central Asia turning into a haven for terrorism and terrorist activity amid the uncontrolled flow of refugees from Afghanistan.
"The Americans definitely lost as a result of what happenned," Ryabkov said. "Maybe everyone lost as well, except for the Taliban," he added.
The top diplomat stressed that no one would benefit from "what happened." The series of events sparked fear in Afghanistan's neighboring countries, making it difficult to expect that any country, especially those neighboring Afghanistan, to seriously participate in formulating a new dialogue model.
Russia has long been cooperating with Afghanistan's neighboring countries. In late July, Russia conducted joint military exercises with Uzbekistan near its borders with Afghanistan. A week later, it conducted similar exercises with Tajikistan, also neighboring Afghanistan.
Those exercises came after Moscow expressed deep concern regarding the escalating dangers from armed organizations following the rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, which came days after the United States withdrew from the country.
