Deterioration of situation in Afghanistan triggers serious concern - Putin

UFA, July 10. /TASS/. The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where the production of opiates is growing and the Islamic State group is becoming more active causes serious concern, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the expanded session of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Friday. "A major concern is the degradation of the situation in Afghanistan," the Russian leader said, adding that the ten-year deployment of the international contingent to that country "had not brought significant improvement of the situation." "The situation is exacerbated by the growing activity of the so-called Islamic State," Putin went on to say, adding that this terrorist group was seeking to extend its influence. The Russian president pointed to the increasing volumes of opiates production in Afghanistan, whereas substantial sums from the sale of narcotic drugs were allocated for supporting terrorism in this country. The Russian president added that the leaders of the SCO countries during the summit in Ufa agreed to boost coordination between their Defence Ministries to effectively monitor the situation and coordinate joint actions to counter potential threats." "We also agreed to continue the practice of the annual anti-terrorism exercises," Putin said. Read more