Russia and China on Afghanistan antiterrorist operation

Russia and China positively assess results of the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan.

Now on an official visit in Beijing, Russian Security Council secretary Vladimir Rushailo told reporters on Wednesday after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan that "Russia and China note a positive role which the United States has played in Afghanistan". At the same time, it is too early to speak of serious stability in Afghanistan: many contradictions still exist there and the military component of the Taliban has not yet been destroyed, said Rushailo.

He informed journalists that during negotiations with the Chinese foreign minister they discussed strategic and regional stability, military-technical and trade-economic cooperation. He noted that, from the viewpoint of Chinese partners, trade-economic cooperation actively affects political relations between the two countries.

The Chinese side has also showed interest in actions of Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, cooperation between Russia and the United States. This question was also touched upon during the negotiations. Regional security is crucial here, said the secretary of the Russian Security Council.

"The negotiations have shown that Russian-Chinese relations can reach a higher level of development, as shown by the proximity of views," stressed Rushailo.