Rushailo: Russian And French Positions On Afghanistan Have Much In Common

Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushailo, who is in France on a three-day visit, has told journalists that Russia and France's positions on the post-Taliban system in Afghanistan have much in common. According to him, "[our] French partners, like us, are concerned about what will follow the military operations in Afghanistan." Rushailo said that the French and Russian leaderships believed that the new Afghan government should not involve the Taliban. The Security Council secretary expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the majority of country and state leaders shared this point of view. Rushailo said that France and Russia had also found common ground on another point of the "post-Taliban system." "Russia and France believe that the interests of all the ethnic groups living on the territory of Afghanistan should be represented in the new government," Rushailo stressed.