Russia Says US Mission In Afghanistan Has "Failed"

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of foreign troops to launch offensives.

Russia on Friday said that the United States had failed in its mission in Afghanistan and blamed the withdrawal of foreign forces for the war-torn country's rapidly deteriorating stability. Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of foreign troops to launch offensives, capturing a swath of districts and border crossings, and encircling provincial capitals. The White House had tried to paint the drawdown of foreign troops in "the most positive colours", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. "But everyone understands that the mission failed," he told reporters at a conference in Uzbekistan attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.