IEA can stabilize Afghanistan if left to its own devices: Russian spy chief

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is fully capable of restoring order in the country, assuming external actors do not meddle in its affairs, the head of the FSB security service said.

Speaking at a security meeting of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Bishkek, Alexander Bortnikov said that attempts to consolidate and expand the influence of terrorist networks in the Afghan-Pakistani zone are a big threat to CIS security.

“Undoubtedly, we cannot but be concerned about what is happening in this country. On the one hand, positive trends should be noted. The Afghan authorities are actively working on normalizing the situation, they’re countering against odious terrorist organizations, seeking to strengthen external borders in order to reduce the infiltration of militants from regional conflict zones. They are in dialogue with us – I am speaking about the special services of the CIS,” Russia’s state news agency TASS quoted Bortnikov as saying.

“And if external players do not interfere with Kabul, the Taliban (IEA), I believe, will be able to restore order in the country,” he said.

The Russian official said that there are “persistent attempts by the Anglo-Saxons to influence the situation in Afghanistan,” with the aim to gain a foothold in Central Asia and use this platform to influence the entire region.

“Of course, with so much at stake, any means necessary are used. Hence the constant rotation of militants in the Syrian-Iraqi and Afghan-Pakistani zones, the emergence of new training camps for militants near the southern borders of the Commonwealth,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bortnikov called efforts to find common ground in countering international terrorism with the new authorities in Afghanistan a “positive trend.”