Putin warns against ‘radical Islam’ spillover from Afghanistan

Russian president tells Central Asia leaders ‘extremists’ must be kept at bay following the Taliban’s takeover of power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Central Asian leaders that it is vital to avoid any spillover of “radical Islam” into the region from Afghanistan, according to the Kremlin. Addressing an online summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Monday, Putin said it was important to keep “Islamist extremists” at bay following the Taliban’s takeover of power. The CSTO’s emergency talks on Afghanistan were chaired by Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan’s president, and attended by the leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – all former Soviet republics.