© Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERSRussian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the BRICS summit via a video link in Moscow, Russia September 9, 2021
Speaking to a video conference of the BRICS economic international group, Putin said the crisis in Afghanistan results from an attempt to impose foreign ideas in a country where they won't be accepted.
"I have said many times that the current crisis in Afghanistan is a direct consequence of irresponsible attempts to impose alien values from outside and the desire to build so-called democratic structures by political engineering, which takes into account neither historical nor national characteristics of other nations," Putin said, accusing the US and its allies of "ignoring the traditions that other countries live by."
He stressed that such actions lead to destabilization and ultimately to chaos.
"The authors of these experiments then hastily retreat, leaving their subjects to fend for themselves as well. The whole international community has to deal with the consequences," he summed up.
BRICS, named for an acronym of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is a group of five major emerging economies that have significant influence in their regions. The five nations meet every year, each hosting on a rotating basis. Speaking to his heads-of-state counterparts, Putin noted that the group has "consistently advocated the establishment of long-awaited peace and stability on Afghan soil."
"The people of [that] country have been struggling for many decades and have earned the right to determine for themselves what their state will be," Putin said.
The Taliban, a movement designated a terrorist organization in Russia, announced that it had taken control of Afghanistan on August 15, ahead of the planned withdrawal of US troops. Since then, Moscow has approached the situation differently to most Western countries, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for the world to react based on the facts.
Comment: Russia, ever pragmatic, understands that though they may not approve of the Taliban or its ideology, it is in charge of a country right on their borders. Dialogue is always better than a shooting war.