Foreign Desk Report
MOSCOW: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) called for talks between the bloc and the Taliban and for efforts to prevent the rise of extremism.
The SCO member states came together Friday to address concerns over the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. These talks were preceded by a series of meetings within the Russia-led alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes six post-Soviet countries, namely Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe.
Speaking via video link China’s President Xi Jinping said that member nations of the SCO should help drive a smooth transition in Afghanistan, according to Chinese state media. SCO member states should guide Afghanistan to develop an inclusive political structure and follow moderate internal and external policies, Xi said.
The SCO is comprised of eight members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan is an observer state in the group. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev urged other nations to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets kept in foreign banks to facilitate dialogue with the Taliban government in Kabul.
Following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has said any central bank assets the Afghan government has in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Afghanistan will not have access to the lender’s resources. Mirziyoyev, whose country borders Afghanistan, called for talks between the bloc and the Taliban and for efforts to prevent the rise of extremism. Unfreezing Afghan assets, he said, could help achieve those goals.
“Considering the humanitarian situation, we propose looking into the possibility of lifting the freeze on Afghanistan’s accounts in foreign banks,” he said.
