Leader of Afghanistan resistance movement calls Russia for help

The son of the leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of the resistance movement to the Taliban* (terrorist organization, banned in Russia) called on Russia for help. 

“According to the leader of resistance to the Taliban*, it will not be possible to resolve the political crisis without Moscow's help. I hope that [the Russian authorities] will intervene politically and help us avoid an escalation of violence,” Masoud said in an interview with RBC from Panjshir, a province in Afghanistan encircled by Taliban* militants. 

He believes that Russia can help conduct emergency peace talks between the resistance movement and the Taliban*.

The leader of the resistance movement stressed: the settlement of the crisis in Afghanistan lies within Russia's interests, as the fire of extremist ideology may start "burning throughout Central Asia and southern Russia" otherwise. 

Afghanistan's Panjshir province became the center of resistance to the Taliban* on 17 August, when former vice-president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, arrived in the hard-to-reach region controlled by the groups of Ahmad Massoud Jr., Saleh announced that he was the acting president of Afghanistan. The insurgents were joined by the military from among the government forces.

Putin: Russia will not interfere in Afghanistan crisis

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on August 24 that Russia had learned lessons from USSR's experience in Afghanistan.

“The USSR had had its own experience of presence in this country. We have learned the necessary lessons,” Putin said, adding that the conflict in Afghanistan lasts for several decades.

Moscow is closely following the development in Afghanistan, but it will not get its armed forces involved in the "conflict of all against all", Putin stated. 

*terrorist organization, banned in Russia