"Afghanistan remains one of the volatile hotspots. The main threat comes from illegal armed groups, which have strengthened their positions in the country after the Taliban* Islamic movement came to power. We believe that the US intends to use the potential of these terrorist groups to destabilize the region," Shoigu said at the meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk.
To this end, the militants of these groups have been sent from the Middle East to Afghanistan, the minister said, adding that in the future their infiltration into neighboring countries is possible, for example, to carry out terrorist attacks.
"Under these conditions, we believe it is important to coordinate efforts in the direction of Afghanistan, to pay due attention to joint exercises both bilaterally and in multilateral formats," he said.
Instead of working to revive Afghanistan after NATO's withdrawal, the bloc's members are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia, which Russia sees as a direct threat to security there and throughout the CSTO region, Shoigu added.
The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, overthrowing the Washington-backed government as NATO troops left the country after nearly 20 years of US military presence.
*under UN sanctions for terrorism