OREANDA-NEWS. Vladimir Putin met with President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.

In particular, the two presidents discussed trade and economic relations and military technical cooperation between the two countries.

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PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr President, friends,

I am very pleased to have this chance to meet with you on the sidelines of the SCO summit to discuss our bilateral relations.

As you know, we follow the situation in Afghanistan closely and we sincerely wish you success. You have the presidential election coming up ahead, and also the final withdrawal by the international coalition forces. This is putting Afghanistan in the spotlight. We realise how much of a burden this places on you.

Regrettably, we have seen something of a decrease in our economic relations, and this is something I want to talk about today.

In the security area, we continue to support Afghanistan’s army and are supplying some types of weapon, on a free-of-charge basis in some cases, as well as ammunition, and we are also training your specialists at Russian military academies. 

We know that you have ahead the very difficult task of stabilising the domestic political situation and ensuring that your armed forces and law enforcement agencies will be up to the task of taking on responsibility for the situation in the country.

PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN HAMID KARZAI (translated from Russian): Your Excellency President Putin,

The Russian Federation has followed the situation in Afghanistan over the last decade and is helping and supporting our country very much. Our relations have improved and grown stronger.

These last ten years have been an exceptional time for Afghanistan, and the Russian Federation Government understands the situation there well.

Afghanistan’s armed forces are growing stronger all the time and are capable of protecting Afghanistan and its people. In general, where Afghanistan’s armed forces are taking part and ensuring stability, there are greater guarantees of peace and security.

In 7-8 months’ time, Afghanistan will hold a presidential election and there will be a new president. I am more than confident that he will also support relations with the Russian Federation. We have two or three candidates running for the office of president, and one of them is here with us today.

Regarding trade between Russia and Afghanistan, our bilateral trade has dropped in recent years. I am a little worried by this and am sure that trade relations between our two countries could be a lot better.

A high-level delegation from Russia visited Afghanistan recently. I met with them and spoke with them. I support better trade and economic relations between Russia and Afghanistan.

As for Afghanistan’s armed forces, we need the Russian Federation’s help and we ask for your assistance and support.