Karzai calls on Moscow to join fight against IS

Afghan former President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday in Moscow that Russia and Afghanistan should fight together against Islamic State, and said that he equally informed the highest Russian authorities of his view.

“Yesterday I had the honor of being received by President Vladimir Putin, and this (the fight against IS) was one of the main topics of our conversation,” Karzai said at a press conference.

The former president, who also met with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, stressed that what happens in Afghanistan has a direct impact on Russia, and vice versa.

Karzai’s specific proposal to President Putin and Minister Lavrov was that Afghanistan and Russia should fight extremism together.

RussianAfghan cooperation in the fight against extremism in Afghanistan should also be fortified by Chinese and Indian forces, the former head of state posited, adding that with Russia, it would be a significant alliance in the region.

Karzai confirmed that his successor, Ashraf Ghani, would visit Russia during the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, on July 10.

Afghanistan holds the status of dialogue partner in the SCO, which unites Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.