Afghan situation has considerable impact on CSTO collective security — bloc’s chief

MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. The situation with the Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) establishing control of the territory of Afghanistan has a considerable impact on the Central Asian collective security region of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and causes deep concern, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said on Monday. "The rapid advance by the Taliban movement, which has seized control of the basic part of Afghan territory, including the state borders and the capital, the city of Kabul, and also the actual change of power in the country are considerably affecting the situation in the CSTO’s Central Asian collective security region and cause deep concern," the head of the post-Soviet security block said. The CSTO will render assistance to Tajikistan bordering on Afghanistan, if necessary, the organization’s chief pledged. Also, preparations have been launched for the drills of the CSTO Collective Forces that will run near the Tajik-Afghan border in the coming months, he added. "Beyond a doubt, the situation around Afghanistan will be among the main issues in the course of the upcoming meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council that will take place in the capital of the republic of Tajikistan, the city of Dushanbe, in mid-September," the CSTO chief said. The fighters of the Taliban radical militant group entered Kabul without encountering any resistance on Sunday and started to take control of government buildings abandoned by Afghan troops, the Al Arabiya TV Channel reported. President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani left the country. The Taliban later announced that it had established control of all the districts in the Afghan capital. Read more