TEHRAN, August 16 - A senior Russian official has described the US military campaign in Afghanistan as a failure, calling for the withdrawal of American troops from the country
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - A senior Russian official has described the US military campaign in Afghanistan as a failure, calling for the withdrawal of American troops from the country, which has now become “an incubator of international terrorism.”
“The American campaign in Afghanistan has failed. Afghanistan risks becoming a global incubator of international terrorism. It has, in fact, already partially grown to become it,” said Russian Foreign Ministry’s Director of the Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov, who also serves as President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Afghanistan.
Speaking in an interview on Monday with the Moscow-based Izvestiadaily, Kabulov underlined that the Kremlin does not see the need for further presence of US military forces in the war-ravaged nation.
“Moscow never hastened the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. But since the US Army [campaign] there has come to nothing, let them leave Afghanistan.”
The Russian diplomat further emphasized that Moscow firmly opposes Washington’s idea of replacing its regular army troops in Afghanistan with military contractors saying, “The US is in despair, and [its] plans to replace the professional armed forces with mercenaries are stupid.”
“It will not lead to anything good: mercenaries will simply break into a run. They recruit them from around the world, offering cash. How are they going to fight against the Taliban?” he asked.
The development came after US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he is “very close” to announcing a new strategy on Afghanistan.
“It’s a very big decision for me,” he told reporters in Bedminster. “I took over a mess, and we’re going to make it a lot less messy.”
Source: PressTV
Your Comment