US seeking to use terrorists in Afghanistan to upset region: Russia

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The United States wants to destabilize Central Asia, and it is seeking to do so through the use of terrorists in Afghanistan, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday.

"Afghanistan remains a hotbed of instability," Shoigu added, as per the Russian TASS news agency. "The main threat comes from illegal armed groups that have significantly strengthened their positions in that country after the Taliban came to power."

Shoigu's words came during a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) defense ministers' meeting in Minks, Belarus.

"We believe that the United States intends to use the potential of these terrorist organizations to destabilize the situation in the region," the Russian top defense official underlined.

"For this purpose, the redeployment of fighters from the controlled gangs in the Middle East to Afghanistan has been organized," he added.

The US has been facing accusations over the past few years of being engaged in transferring ISIS terrorists and terrorists from other organizations to various other regional countries.

The Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said in January that there was evidence showing that the US was attempting to build ties with current Afghan authorities while secretly sponsoring ISIS.

"Yes, there is such data, they [the US authorities] do it not for good, but for harm because they really want to avenge their shameful military-political defeat in Afghanistan and, in retaliation, they do everything so that peace is not established in this long-suffering land, but even worse is that, in addition to contacts with the armed opposition in Afghanistan, the Anglo-Saxons secretly sponsor the Daesh," Kabulov stated.

Moreover, Shoigu warned that the terrorists redeployed to Afghanistan by the United States could soon start making their way into neighboring states.

"In the future, their infiltration into neighboring countries is possible for committing terrorist acts," Shoigu underlined.

"Under these conditions, we believe it is important to coordinate efforts on the Afghan track and to pay due attention to joint exercises - both bilateral and multilateral," he concluded.

The US' withdrawal from Afghanistan caused mayhem in the entire country, as US officially withdrew in August of 2021 after 20 years of occupation

Although the Taliban government is not internationally recognized, Russia and China are convening with representatives of the Taliban in order to restore the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The UN estimates that ISIS attacks have resulted in approximately 700 deaths since the US withdrawal in August 2021.

After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the US-backed government was dissolved, leaving behind over $7 billion in central bank assets frozen by the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

US President Joe Biden later signed an executive order to freeze the $7 billion, claiming that the funds will be used for humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan and compensating American victims of terrorism, including 9/11 families. It is noteworthy that none of the 9/11 hijackers were Afghan.