Russia-led Military Bloc Ready to Respond to Deteriorating Afghan Situation

The CSTO military bloc led by Russia on Thursday said that the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s seizure of power last month is alarming and it is ready to “take effective measures” to ensure safety of its member states’ borders. Founded in 1992, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) groups six former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan with the aim of safeguarding peace and stability in Eurasia.

The CSTO’s Collective Security Council, in a declaration following a CSTO summit in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, said: “We stand for the establishment of Afghanistan as a peaceful and independent state, free from terrorism and drugs. “We call on all Afghan parties involved in the conflict to begin substantive negotiations on a peaceful settlement as soon as possible,” the document said, noting that the Afghan situation is deteriorating, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

It said that the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s seizure of power is alarming and it is ready to “take effective measures” to ensure safety of the borders of its member states. The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban on August 15 has sparked concerns in the region.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the CSTO will hold a joint summit meeting on Afghanistan at Dushanbe on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Chinese President Xi Jinping would address the SCO summit via video link.

The eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) grouping of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan will hold its 21st summit on Friday at Dushanbe. Afghanistan is an observer in the SCO.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US’ complete troop withdrawal on August 31 after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country to the UAE. The Taliban insurgents stormed across Afghanistan and captured all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

Thousands of Afghan nationals and foreigners have fled the country to escape the new Taliban regime and to seek asylum in different nations, including the US and many European nations, resulting in total chaos and deaths.