In an interview with RIA Novosti, Russian presidential special envoy for Afghanistan and director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s second Asia Department, Zamir Kabulov, said that Russian and US interests on the Afghan settlement coincide and Moscow is ready to continue constructive interaction with Washington on this issue
“They have to be constructive because they are in a stalemate. They have to justify themselves somehow in this situation. I say this without gloating at all. We are practitioners and pragmatists, we need to address our national interests, Russia’s security interests in the long term. And the Americans are important partners for us in this regard. This is almost the only field where we cooperate with the Americans, and effectively. At least we want the same things. We appreciate that and we do it in our own interest and in the interest of our allies. At the same time, it turns out that this coincides with the interests of the United States. Well, we are ready for such a conversation”, – Kabulov said.
He plans to attend the international conference in Tashkent “Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectedness. Challenges and Opportunities” in which the US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, with whom he plans to meet, will also take part.