VOICING concern at the spiralling violence in Afghanistan, India on Friday called for immediate reduction in bloodshed in the war-torn nation and underlined that the “legitimacy aspect” of who should rule the country is of importance and should not be ignored.

 

“Of course we are concerned at the direction of events in Afghanistan,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while responding to a question during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

 

His remarks came in the midst of Taliban militants seizing dozens of districts in recent weeks and are now thought to control about a third of the country,ahead of the complete withdrawal of US and Western troops from Afghanistan. “The point right now we stress is that we must see a reduction in violence. Violence cannot be the solution for the situation in Afghanistan,” Jaishankar said. “At the end of the day, who governs Afghanistan has a legitimacy aspect of it. I think that is something which cannot and should not be ignored,” said Jaishankar, who is in Russia on a three-day visit.

 

“If we have to seek peace within Afghanistan and around, it’s important for India and Russia to work together to ensure that much of the progress in economic, social terms are maintained. We are committed to an independent, sovereign and democratic Afghanistan,” he said. Interestingly, Jaishankar’s trip to Moscow coincides with the visit of a Taliban delegation here on Thursday to offer assurances that their quick gains on the ground in Afghanistan do not threaten regional countries.

 

Jaishankar discusses Key issues with his Russian counterpart: Jaishankar on Friday said he held “productive” talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and reviewed the progress on the broad-ranging cooperation between the two “time-tested” friendly nations on space, nuclear, energy and defence sectors. The two leaders also discussed global and regional issues like Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.

 

Jaishanakar said that despite the fact that so many things are changing in the world both before and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s relationship with Russia has remained steady and contributed to global peace, security and stability.

He also expressed appreciation for Russia’s support to India during the second wave of the pandemic.

 

The two leaders discussed connectivity, especially the North-South corridor.