Moscow seeks to cooperate with Afghanistan in security - Lavrov

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Moscow wants to cooperate with Kabul in a range of areas, especially in security and economy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday opening talks with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani. "Russia and Afghanistan are old-time and close partners, and are interested in cooperation in security, humanitarian and economic areas," Lavrov said. "We support efforts of Afghanistan’s leadership in stabilizing the situation in the country and in the war on terror." Moscow is satisfied by the "level of political dialogue" with Afghanistan and cooperation in the United Nations, Russia’s top diplomat said. Lavrov expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the avalanches in Afghanistan earlier this month, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured people. More than 100 people died in this tragedy between February 4 and 6. Lavrov called on Afghanistan to develop cooperation in preparing for natural disasters. Rabbani thanked Lavrov for offering condolences, noting that Afghanistan’s authorities are making every effort to reduce the aftermath of the disaster. "This trip is important, we call for developing our relations. We have many topics for discussion, in particular, the fight against terrorism," Afghanistan’s foreign minister said. Read more