Evacuation of Russian Embassy in Kabul not considered, envoy says

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The issue of the evacuation of the Russian Embassy in Kabul due to the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) taking over Afghanistan’s largest cities of Kandahar and Herat is not being considered, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Friday. "No, it’s not being considered," he said. According to him, the Taliban has no opportunities to capture Kabul "in the foreseeable future." Afghanistan’s security situation deteriorated significantly in April after US President Joe Biden announced that the American armed forces’ operation there which became the US’ longest foreign military campaign was coming to an end. Against this background, the Taliban has been stepping up the pace of its offensive in several directions. According to the data from several open sources as well as the claims of the Taliban itself, the radicals are controlling from 60% to 85% of the country’s territory, including the areas along the border with five countries: Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. On Thursday, the Taliban announced the capture of a number of Afghanistan’s largest cities, including Kandahar and Herat. On February 14, 2003, the Russian Supreme Court declared the Taliban to be a terrorist organization. The extremist organization’s activities are outlawed nationwide. Read more