Kyrgyz Permanent Representative to the UN reported in the UN Security Council on behalf of the CSTO member states on the situation in Afghanistan

Permanent Representative of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Taalaibek Kydyrov made a speech in the UN Security Council on behalf of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on the situation in Afghanistan. The press service of the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan reports. He noted that the CSTO member countries share the course of the Afghan leadership on the country's progress towards peace, stability, prosperity and cooperation with its neighbors, as well as pay tribute to the efforts of the Afghan people, seeking to determine their own fate and to take responsibility for their own development and security. Also, he expressed hope that after the second round of presidential elections on June 14 the people of Afghanistan will unite to fulfill creative tasks to ensure the equality of everybody, respect for the rights and interests of different groups, justice and harmony. Kydyrov on behalf of the CSTO member states expressed deep concern the intensification of activities in Afghanistan of movements Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist and extremist groups and illegal armed groups and criminal elements, especially in the northern regions of the country. He named as a key call the problem of illegal drug production and drug trafficking and a strong relationship between terrorism and drugs, undermining Afghanistan's achievements in the field of security. The Special Representative also expressed concern on the increase in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, which causes serious damage to the stability, security, socio-economic development and governance in the country, the region and the whole world. In this regard, it was stated the readiness of CSTO member states on further assistance to Afghanistan in the anti-drug field, including training officers for law enforcement agencies, supplying equipment and supplies, maintenance of a permanent mechanism for the anti-drug "Channel", created under the auspices of the CSTO.