CIS Secretary-General Warns Against Isolating Afghanistan, Citing Eurasian Security Risks

The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has warned that excluding Afghanistan from regional interactions is not a solution and could threaten the security of Eurasia. He emphasized that regional stability cannot be achieved without Afghanistan’s active participation in economic and transit projects.

Sergey Lebedev made these remarks at the 12th Primakov International Scientific and Expert Conference. According to him, member countries of the organization maintain “pragmatic” dialogues with Taliban officials and encourage them to combat the ISIS-Khorasan branch and prevent drug production and trafficking.

Lebedev added that regional security depends on economic and transit cooperation with Afghanistan, and excluding Kabul from these processes could lead to a deadlock. He stressed that the CIS members strive to create opportunities for joint cooperation through dialogue.

The Commonwealth of Independent States, established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently has nine full members and one associate member, including Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and several Central Asian countries.

Despite the expansion of regional contacts, none of these countries have officially recognized the Taliban administration. Although diplomatic relations and working interactions between Kabul and some of these capitals continue, the issue of formal recognition remains unresolved.