Tajikistan
Friday 9 June 2023
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“We seriously reject the report of Human Rights Watch, which said that the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate allegedly committed war crimes. The organization should not base its reports on misinformation.”
There is powerful evidence the Taliban have committed war crimes against former Afghan government personnel and journalists. -
“Ties between the Taliban and al-Qaida are bogus, the only ones talking about [such ties] are the government in Kabul and the Americans.”
Al-Qaida has formal status inside Taliban’s Islamic council, and there is abundant evidence of their alliance. -
“Daesh … their members were transferred by choppers. When the Taliban laid a siege on them, we saw that only American choppers could fly as the Afghan airspace is fully under the control of Americans.”
There is no evidence the U.S. has helped evacuate Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan by helicopter. The U.S. has been fighting IS in several countries. -
"Based on reliable information, planes operated by the NATO and the United States transport these illicit drugs in our neighboring country.”
NATO has been actively engaged in counter-drug trafficking operations in Afghanistan. The Iranians provided no evidence or identifiable sources for their claims, nor did the Russians -- the original source of the claim. -
“Probably, the level of integration in the CIS format is not the same as in the Eurasian Union... But this is a common story. These are, as we say, variable-speed tracks of integration.”
Looking at all of Russia’s main trading partners, only one has seen the share of trade dramatically increase over the past decade. -
“Objectively, for the Americans contacts with ISIL are more interesting… – for spreading sabotage actions beyond the pales of Afghanistan. On the border with Turkmenistan there is a major offensive is being cooked by Islamic State and allied groups. That is where they may surface.”
The Afghan Special Forces confirmed they conducted the operation arresting Islamic State members and transferring them under the Afghan National Directorate of Security control. The U.S. was not involved. -
"The decision is clearly political in its nature and, as a matter of fact, is practically censorship — seven [Facebook] pages belonging to our news hubs in neighboring countries have been blocked.”
Sputnik cried “censorship” after Facebook removed 364 Facebook pages and accounts for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” But while Sputnik charged the pages were removed for their politically-motivated content, Facebook says it was a matter of “misrepresentations of their identities.” -
“I note that we’ve never, even in the days of tsarist Russia, killed people for dissent. This, by the way, is the great strength of our people.”
Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union have persecuted dissidents, sometimes using capital punishment. Modern Russia has abolished the death penalty, although a number of dissidents and journalists have been murdered, their cases remaining unsolved. -
“Russia is ready to host the World Cup. The stadiums are open. The cops are polyglots. That is a quick recap of many years of work.We're not going to lose face in front of the planet. It’s not for nothing we terrified [the planet] with a missile. In general, all is well. But there is only one “but”: Our team, frankly, is sh-t.”
The International Federation of Football Association, the world soccer authority better known as FIFA, ranked Russia’s national team #70 and labeled it a “worst mover.” -
“Today, Washington is losing allies even faster than the USSR did during its period of decline. Old and experienced [U.S.] partners are turning in the direction of Russia and China, and many are simply waiting for the right moment to escape the sinking ship of American ‘democracy’."
The U.S. continues to retain and support its allies while enjoying their backing and cultivating new partners, including those that have or are turning away from Russia. -
“Today, unfortunately, it can be noted that the United States is trying to establish a loyal regime [in Afghanistan] under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Our country takes the position that the United States (should) withdraw its troops from Afghanistan; the legitimately elected government of Afghanistan takes principally the same position. U.S. success in the fight against terrorism, especially in Afghanistan, is not particularly discernible.”
U.S. and Afghan forces have, in fact, made major counterterrorism gains, and Afghanistan’s government supports fully the U.S. military presence and the newly unveiled U.S. strategy. -
“U.S. actions in Afghanistan are destabilizing, harmful to neighboring countries but above all to Afghanistan itself… ISIS was created by the United States to solve geopolitical problems in the Middle East, [but] now they see it’s not working there and are preparing to move ISIS to Central Asia.”
The U.S. is actually fighting Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, contributing to the region’s security, as well as its economic and democratic development.