Kremlin Spokesman Says Russia Wants Stable Afghanistan As US Plans Drawdown

Russia cannot afford a destabilized Afghanistan, the Kremlin spokesman said Friday amid reports of a planned reduction of US military presence in the country.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2018) Russia cannot afford a destabilized Afghanistan, the Kremlin spokesman said Friday amid reports of a planned reduction of US military presence in the country.

"Kremlin is primarily interested in preserving stability in Afghanistan, which includes leaving no room for extremist ideology... Afghanistan shares an extensive border with our partners... meaning it's crucial that nothing be done in Afghanistan to destabilize it," Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said he was skeptical about the US government reportedly planning to withdraw nearly 7,000 troops from Afghanistan.

The previous administration in Washington, he said, had promised to pull from the country but nothing came of it.

"We, of course, need to wait and see what will really happen... We prefer to wait patiently and analyze the real events," he said at a press conference.

The announcement of the drawdown came a day after the White House declared that all US troops would be promptly withdrawn from Syria. Pentagon chief Jim Mattis handed in his resignation, saying President Donald Trump deserved a defense secretary whose views were better aligned with his own.