India, Russia To Provide Immediate Humanitarian Assistance To Afghanistan

In their summit talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also pitched for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul and reiterated their strong support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

India and Russia on Monday underlined that the Afghan soil should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist groups including ISIS, the Al-Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and decided to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.

In their summit talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also pitched for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul and reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan, according to a joint statement.

The mentioning of LeT in the statement assumes significance as it reflects Russia's understanding of India's concerns over the possible risk that the Pakistan-based terror groups pose after the Taliban's capture of power in Kabul.

The statement said the leaders welcomed the close coordination between India and Russia on Afghanistan, including through the creation of a permanent consultative mechanism on the issue between the security councils of both countries.