PM Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin discuss Afghan crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in Afghanistan that was taken over by Taliban last week.

PM Modi spoke to Putin for over 45 minutes on the phone, had detailed discussions with him on the developments in Afghanistan while also speaking about bilateral relations.

Taking to Twitter, Modi said, “Had a detailed and useful exchange of views with my friend President Putin on recent developments in Afghanistan. We also discussed issues on the bilateral agenda, including India-Russia cooperation against COVID-19. We agreed to continue close consultations on important issues."

Several countries have been trying to evacuate their citizens and diplomats from Kabul, as the country is witnessing its worst crisis in decades. Thousands of Afghans are looking to fly out of Kabul airport amid chaos, with several reports of injuries and deaths.

Earlier on Monday, Modi had asked the foreign ministry to brief the leaders of political parties on developments in Afghanistan. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Indian government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from Afghanistan.

While India has evacuated its diplomatic mission from Kabul, Russia still has its diplomats there in the country and has kept opened all lines of communications with Taliban. India on Monday brought back 146 of its nationals in four different flights from Qatar's capital Doha, days after they were evacuated from Afghanistan by NATO and American aircraft in view security concerns in the country.

On Sunday, 392 people including two Afghan lawmakers were evacuated in three different flights under the evacuation mission.

Meanwhile, Modi also spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the Afghanistan situation and its implications on the region and the world. Both leaders stressed the need for maintaining peace and security, and outlined that the repatriation of stranded people from Afghanistan is the urgent priority.

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