NEW DELHI Feb 12 The Taliban* movement is coping with the situation in Afghanistan, said Zamir Kabulov, special envoy of the Russian president for Afghanistan, director of the second department of Asia at the Foreign Ministry.
«Of course, we try not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. But we cannot hide our disappointment with the way the Taliban is handling the situation. It (the movement — ed.) has done a great job of driving out the Americans and all the puppet governments. But it has not learned how to run the state. The Taliban have repeatedly said that they have learned their lessons and will not repeat past mistakes. But now we see the same picture,» Kabulov told The Week.
He noted that the socio-economic situation in Afghanistan, which is combined with other challenges, such as terrorism and drugs, is of particular concern.
In early August 2021, the Taliban stepped up their offensive against the Afghan government forces, entered Kabul on August 15, and the next day declared that the war was over. The last two weeks of August, from the Kabul airport, which was under the protection of the US military, there was a mass evacuation of citizens of Western countries and Afghans who collaborated with them. On the night of August 31, the US military left the Kabul airport, ending nearly 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan. In early September of the same year, the composition of the interim government of Afghanistan was announced, which was headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who held the chair of the Foreign Minister during the first rule of the Taliban* and has been under UN sanctions since 2001.
* The movement is under UN sanctions for terrorist activity.