Russian Foreign Ministry: The West Hinders Stopping Drug Production in Afghanistan

Vladimir Tarabrin, the Director of the New Challenges and Threats Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that the West's freezing of Afghan assets has crippled the banking sector and other economic sectors in the country. The Russian diplomat noted that these actions may deprive Afghanistan of the opportunity to abandon drug production. According to him, in May 2021, prior to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, emphasized that the country was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. Tarabrin mentioned, "There are at least 23 million people in need of urgent food assistance. Additionally, the freezing of Afghanistan's financial assets by Western countries has paralyzed not only the banking sector but also industry and agriculture." The Russian diplomat continued, "In these difficult circumstances, the cultivation of opium poppy and drug production remains the almost sole source of income for Afghan people. Considering the drought and the lack of seeds and fertilizers, the prospects for replacing it with other legitimate crops seem hopeless."