US aims to cut troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq by mid-January

In a statement, the Russian embassy said the duo discussed the military, political and socio-economic situation in the war-ravaged country following its takeover by the Taliban.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Russian counterpart Nikolay Patrushev on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi on the prevailing situation in Afghanistan following its takeover by the Taliban and its security implications for India, Russia and the Central Asian region.

In a statement, the Russian embassy said the duo discussed the military, political and socio-economic situation in the war-ravaged country.

An ANI report said they also touched upon humanitarian and migration problems in Afghanistan, as well as prospects for Russian-Indian joint efforts aimed at creating conditions for launching a peaceful settlement process on the basis of an intra-Afghan dialogue.

“In addition, the sides agreed to coordinate the approaches of Russia and India in multilateral formats on the Afghan settlement,” the report said.

The importance of defining parameters of the future state structure of Afghanistan by the Afghans themselves, as well as the need to prevent the escalation of violence — social, ethnic and confessional contradictions in the country — were also emphasised.

The two top officials also discussed deepening bilateral cooperation in security with an emphasis on further interaction on the anti-terrorist track, combating illegal migration and drug trafficking, the embassy said.

The further spoke about intensifying joint work of the two countries’ special services and military bodies. The meeting took place a day after Doval held extensive talks with chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns on the Afghan crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had on August 24 discussed the developments in Afghanistan and expressed the view that it was important for the two countries to work together.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said Patrushev is visiting India at the invitation of Doval for the high-level India-Russia inter-governmental consultations on Afghanistan.

On Monday, Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev said that there is “ample scope” for cooperation between India and Russia on Afghanistan and both sides have been in regular touch with each other on the latest developments in the war-torn country.