UK Foreign Secretary to call on China, Russia over Afghanistan

The UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss will encourage China and Russia to 'act as one' with international military forces to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a stronghold for global terrorists after the Taliban captured Kabul and retook control of the country last month.

London: The UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss will call on Beijing and Moscow to discuss the future of Afghanistan at United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Truss is scheduled to chair talks with the foreign ministers from the US, France, China, and Russia, in New York, according to a report. The US, France, UK, China, and Russia are the permanent members of the UNSC, also known as P5.

Truss will encourage China and Russia to 'act as one' with international military forces to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a stronghold for global terrorists after the Taliban captured Kabul and retook control of the country last month, the report added. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also be part of the discussions.

"The P5 has clear shared interests in maintaining stability in volatile regions to prevent terrorism and keep our citizens safe," the report said, quoting Truss. "If we want to avoid Afghanistan becoming a haven for global terror then the international community, including Russia and China, needs to act as one in its engagement with the Taliban," the UK Foreign Secretary stated.

Truss said she wants UK foreign policy to be practically focused and geared towards strengthening its network of economic and diplomatic partnerships, underpinned by strong security ties. "My visit to the UN is the start of autumn where Global Britain leads the way on the world stage," she added.

Truss further said that the UNSC meeting will take place on the margins of the UNGA, the foreign ministers of P5 countries will "discuss the world's most pressing crises". The last meeting of P5 foreign ministers was chaired by China with Guterres in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

(ANI)