Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday, saying that terrorists and criminals, disguised as Afghan refugees are already trying to infiltrate neighboring countries.

“Obviously, without a decisive fight against drug production and smuggling, and against international terrorist groups hunkering [down] in Afghanistan and being manipulated from the outside, it is hardly possible to shape a normal foreign policy, especially with neighboring countries, which are primarily targeted by these destructive forces”, Lavrov said at a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors, hosted by Tehran.

According to the Russian minister, after almost two decades of NATO’s attempts to impose its state-building model on Afghanistan, the nation has to start from scratch.

“Apparently, the time has come to start mobilizing the effort to collect resources for financial, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Afghans”, Lavrov added.

He also stressed that Afghanistan’s neighbors should prevent US and NATO military forces from having a presence on their territory.

Source: Agencies