Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: February 02, 2022 at 17:42 IST
On February 1, 2022, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Ambassador Sergey Vasilyevich Vershinin stated that the position of both India and Russia on the situation in Afghanistan is “similar and identical” in several ways. He also said that humanitarian aid should be sent to people of Afghanistan and was being provided by both Moscow and Delhi.
Vershinin had come to India for attending a meeting on cooperation between India and Russia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
He alleged that the current situation in Afghanistan was a result of presence of American forces and their allies in the country for almost 20 years. After the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021, the Taliban had captured Afghanistan.
He stated, “We expect the current Afghan leadership to fulfill the obligations they have assumed, especially with regard to the inclusivity of the government and with regard to other measures, including in the human rights area.”
With respect to the situation in Ukraine, he stated, “We informed the Indian side about our point of view about what is going on around Ukraine and on the tensions fanned by the Western nations, NATO and the US.”
He further stated, “We also touched upon issues of insuring strategic stability in this area, the more so as Russia has repeatedly voiced its point of view publicly, and we once again communicated it to the Indian friends.”
On the talks with India about the UN-related issues, Vershinin stated that the consultations confirmed that both the nations had the desire to strengthen coordination and interaction on major international issues.