Taliban should keep their promises and prevent violence from spreading: Russia

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the Taliban should ensure that they keep their promises of forming a genuinely representative government and preventing violence from spreading. He was speaking to the media after his speech at the UN General Assembly.

He stated that the interim government by the Taliban does not reflect "the whole gamut of Afghan society".

Russia, China, Pakistan, and the United States are working together to ensure that Afghanistan's new rulers keep their promises, said the Russian minister. "The four countries are in ongoing contact. Representatives from Russia, China, and Pakistan recently travelled to Qatar and then to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, to engage with the Taliban," reported Al Jazeera.

Lavrov criticised the Biden administration for the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. He said that the US and NATO pull-out was carried out without considering the consequences. "There are many weapons left in Afghanistan. It remains critical that those weapons are not used for destructive purposes," he added.

Lavrov in his UN speech accused the US and its Western allies of "persistent attempts to diminish the UN's role in resolving the key problems." He pointed out the recent alliance for multilateralism between Germany and France, and asked, "What kind of structure could be more multilateral than the United Nations?"

The Russian minister said that the recent US announcement of a 'Summit for Democracy" is in the spirit of a Cold War because Washington is going to choose participants by itself. The US is "hijacking the right to decide to what degree a country meets the standards of democracy".

He also drew attention to the rising tension between the US and China, and expressed "great concern" over the new Indo-Pacific strategy.