[Tolo News] Russia is worried that Afghanistan will once again become a safe haven for Taliban and terrorists, which will be a threat to Russian territory as well.| Welcome to the real world, Vlad... |
Mr Avetisyan also showed support on presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan and said that these forces should fight alongside the Afghan forces to remove this challenge from the region.
"We are concerned that once again Afghanistan turns into a safe haven for international terrorism, which is a direct threat to Russian Federation," Mr Avetisyan added.
He also urged the international community particularly the regional countries to fight drug trafficking and eradicate opium cultivated farms.
"The only way to tackle the problem of drug production and trafficking is a joint combat. A joint combat by Afghanistan, Russia and other countries in the world which have major losses from drug cultivation and trafficking," he added.
Provincial governor of Balkh province, Atta Mohammad Noor, once again supported the presence of foreign troops but strongly opposed the existence of foreign military bases in Afghan territory.
He also urged the international community to help Afghanistan in education, training of both ground and air defence forces and as well as in technology.
"We don't want to rely on others, we need to stand on our own feet, the international community can help us in education, training of our military forces, equipping our air defence forces and in terms of technology."
At a recent conference held in Kabul, the 'Art of Asia' countries pledged to cooperate with Afghanistan to fight drug trafficking as well as in investment and peace building.