Russia working on IEA ties, Putin says in Tajikistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Moscow is trying to build relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Putin, during his visit to Tajikistan, also said Russia wants to see all ethnic groups in Afghanistan take part in running the country.

“We are doing everything so that the situation in that country normalizes,” Putin said in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital. “We are attempting to build relations with the political forces that control the situation.”

“We are working from the premise that all ethnic groups in Afghanistan, as was already said, must properly participate in running the country,” he said.

Putin’s statement came after a meeting with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan during the Russian leader’s first trip abroad since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

Tajikistan shares a border with Afghanistan and Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over the possibility of militants infiltrating the former Soviet republic.