Moscow ready to discuss proposals on resumption of cooperation on Afghanistan at NATO-Russia Council meeting - source at Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - The Russian side is ready to discuss NATO proposals on resumption of full-scale cooperation on Afghanistan at the upcoming NATO-Russia Council meeting, a source at the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Tuesday.
"We are ready to discuss practical proposals to restore our full-scale cooperation," the news agency's interlocutor said.
By and large, Russia prefers the wait-and-see position in its contacts with NATO on Afghanistan, not planning to come up with any initiatives at the NATO-Russia Council, the source added.
Alongside this, the source pointed out that the decisions of the NATO summit in Warsaw concerning Afghanistan and in particular, on further financial backing of the Afghan security forces until 2020, coupled with the decision of the administration of U.S. President Barak Obama, will be unlikely to bring about stabilization of the situation, further postponing national reconciliation in Afghanistan instead.
"These decisions will never change the current situation 'on the ground'. And, taking into account the demands of the Taliban that 'aliens' must leave the country, there is no question of a resumption of the negotiating process at this point," the news agency's interlocutor said, adding that "a damper" was put on chances to resume the dialogue with the Taliban immediately with the elimination of their former leader Akhtar Mansour.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova revealed that air safety in the Baltic Sea region and NATO's military presence on "the eastern flank", as well as Donbas, Afghanistan and regional terrorist threats will be discussed at the upcoming session of the NATO-Russia Council on Wednesday, July 13.
