Putin: US Left Opened Pandora’s Box After Their Departure From Afghanistan

The US and their allies left opened Pandora’s box in the Afghanistan filled with problems of terrorism, drug trafficking and religious extremism after their departure from the country, Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

He emphasized that all members states of these organizations share similar approaches to reacting to threats "coming from Afghanistan after Americans quickly left the country, if not fled it, together with their NATO allies."

"They all left opened Pandora’s box behind which is full of problems linked to terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and, unfortunately, religious extremism," Putin said.

The Russian leader expressed gratitude to his counterparts for supporting the idea of a joint meeting for the CSTO and SCO leaders, a meeting held in a new format. "Our discussion today shows how important it is to align efforts of the two organizations for maintaining security and stability on the Eurasian space. It is especially vital in the context of the new deterioration of the already turbulent situation in Afghanistan," he noted.

After the United States announced the end of its military operation in Afghanistan and the pullout of its troops, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) stepped up their offensive. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. The Taliban announced a new government on September 7.