The situation in Afghanistan is changing for the worse, it is important to hold a meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group as soon as possible, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“The situation in Afghanistan remains a serious challenge to stability in the region. Despite efforts, the situation does not change for the better, if not to say that it does change for the worse”, – Lavrov said at the beginning of the meeting of the SCO foreign ministers.
According to Lavrov, it is obvious that a political settlement, Afghanistan’s access to the path of peaceful development is impossible without the participation of the region’s states in the common work, including within the framework of the “Moscow format” and other inclusive mechanisms.
“It is necessary to promote cooperation through the contacts of the SCO-Afghanistan group. In particular, we consider it important to hold its next meeting as soon as the opportunity arises”, – the Russian Foreign Minister added.
Two terrorist attacks took place in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing dozens of people. A suicide bomber made an explosion at the entrance to a hospital in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, after which militants burst into the hospital building. Only part of the medical staff managed to leave the building. The death toll from an attack on a hospital in Kabul was at least 13, and another 15 were injured.