Lavrov: Afghanistan can return to world arena as responsible and peaceful country

The Taliban interim government (outlawed in Russia) has a real, albeit elusive opportunity to bring Afghanistan back to the world arena as a responsible and peaceful country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in a video address to participants in a ministerial meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries involving Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"Now, there is a new administration in Kabul. This is the objective reality. Afghanistan has a real, albeit elusive opportunity to return to the international arena as a responsible and peaceful country," TASS cited the minister as saying.

Moscow respects the objectives to stabilize the political and military situation, include members of national minorities and political forces in the interim government, and hold a general election afterwards, Lavrov stressed. "We note the efforts to resume the activities of state administration bodies, create a regular army, and ensure the security of foreign diplomatic missions," he added.