Achieving a stable peace in Afghanistan is only possible by launching a constructive dialogue between the country’s government and the Taliban movement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, TASS reports.
"It is obvious that it is impossible to resolve the conflict by force, no matter what strategies on that score are adopted in foreign capitals. The military solution ideas are divorced from historical experience and today’s realities," he said at the high-level international conference on security in Afghanistan titled "Peace Process, Security Cooperation and Regional Cooperation" in Tashkent. "It is only possible to achieve real peace and stability by launching a constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement."
The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating due to the growing activities of the Taliban and the Islamic State terror group, he went on.
"The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate," Lavrov said. "Since there is no intra-Afghan political process, the Taliban movement fully or partially controls about half of the country’s territory and continues to conduct military activities and acts of sabotage. The growing presence of the so-called Islamic State, particularly in Afghanistan’s northern provinces, causes special concern," the Russian top diplomat added.