Lavrov commented on the goals of Western geopolitical development, the improvement of Afghanistan
The senior Russian diplomat emphasized that no country is safe from the potential color revolutions organized by the West in line with its geopolitical development.
Moscow, October 16. /TASS/. In a conference on security in Central Asia and Afghanistan hosted by the CSTO, the Commonwealth of Nations (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO cooperation), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that no country is safe from the potential color revolutions organized by the West in line with its geopolitical development.
NATO seeks to expand its sphere of influence in Eurasia.
Lavrov also noted that Afghanistan needs a long time to recover from 20 years of infamous occupation by the United States and NATO countries.
Tass has compiled the key statements of the Foreign Minister.
No country is safe from potential Western-organized color revolutions in its pursuit of geopolitical expansion: "Certainly any country, including our partners in Central Asia, can fall victim to Western geopolitical expansion or Western-orchestrated color revolutions."
Such efforts against a large number of our neighbors have already been thwarted.
NATO seeks to expand its sphere of influence into Eurasia: "NATO has no place in Eurasia. NATO is now trying to claim that the entire territory of Eurasia is within its sphere of responsibility because it is a defense alliance that protects the territories of its member states. However, threats to the territories of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other countries from the Taiwan Sea appear to now originate in the South Sea."
NATO seeks to expand beyond its borders: "This is a major philosophical shift that reflects NATO's intention to dictate its will far beyond its area of responsibility."
Afghanistan needs a long time to recover from 20 years of ugly US and NATO occupation: "We try to be realistic and understand that it will take a long time to overcome the ugly legacy of the US and other NATO countries after two decades of ugly occupation of Afghanistan."
"We understand the difficulties faced by the government in promoting socio-economic development in the absence of national financial reserves, which in this case were practically stolen by our Western colleagues. In this regard, Russia will provide the Afghan people with all the economic and humanitarian assistance it can."
Russia believes that the government formed by the Taliban "is a reality that must be accepted" and more countries are getting used to this idea: "At the political level, we are focusing our efforts on strengthening external support for the Kabul authorities and their areas of activity that serve the interests of regional security. Russia fully shares the view that Afghanistan should be an independent country, free of drugs and a country independent of war and peace."
Radicals seek to use Afghanistan as a springboard to spread threats to Central Asia and Russia: "We pay attention to this fact. According to the available data, terrorist and extremist groups have a significant presence in the border areas of Afghanistan with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, where they have camps and training bases. Members of these groups seek to infiltrate Central Asian countries, especially in the guise of refugees and even tourists.
Fighting drug trafficking and arms trafficking
Attempts to smuggle weapons and drugs from Afghanistan to Central Asia and then to Russia continue.
Moscow and its partners in Central Asia are taking all possible measures to counter the threats posed by arms and drug trafficking from Afghanistan: "We have to do more and more over time, and we are working on it with all Central Asian countries, and at the same time we are cooperating with our colleagues in Kabul."
Kabul has reduced drug production by 90% from 2022: "We believe that Kabul's efforts to combat drug trafficking are also worthy of praise. According to the relevant UN agency, the production of opioids has decreased by 90% from 2022 until now. This is an impressive result."