KABUL - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has promised support for Afghan government policy of durable peace and stability in the war-torn country, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Saturday.
Lavrov reaffirmed the commitment at a meeting with National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Moscow on Friday, a statement from NSC said.
During the meeting, bilateral relations, political links, a joint fight against terrorism, regional economic projects and their effective implementation were discussed, the statement added.
“Afghanistan considers Russian a key partner in the region and Moscow’s cooperation on the war against terrorism very important,” the statement quoted the visiting advisor as saying.
In a separate statement, the NSC said Atmar also met the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). “We maintain sustained dialogue with our Afghan friends and with you personally.
“We communicate with you regularly in your various capacities,” Lavrov told Atmar. “Russian remained in favour of developing further cooperation with Afghanistan in trade, economic and humanitarian spheres and in helping strengthen the combat capability of the Afghan security forces, with a view to ensuring security in your country.”
He added it was important to continue talking about ways to promote national reconciliation in Afghanistan. “In recent months, we have taken a whole number of active moves in cooperation with Afghanistan and key outside players.
“We are planning additional steps in this direction, and we hope to mobilise the will of the international community to move along this path,” he said.
Organised crime, human trafficking, terrorism and other issues were also discussed. Atmar said being a CSTO observer Afghanistan believed in a joint strategy against common threats.
He said Afghanistan was prepared to jointly work with the CSTO for regional stability. CSTO was established in 1992 and currently Russian, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kirghizstan are its full members.
Atmar’s visit to Russian comes at a time when Moscow has started taking more interest in Afghanistan. Russian confirmed it has been in contact with the Taliban for the sake of peace in the region.  (Pajhwok)