CSTO warns of broader spread of drugs, extremism from Afghanistan

The member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have voiced concern about a possible increase in the supply of narcotics and the spread of extremism from Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from that country in 2014. “Unfortunately, there are reasons to think that the intensity of Afghan drug trafficking and the activity of terrorist groups will grow considerably,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a CSTO summit in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Monday, September 23. He noted that extremists were already trying to spread their operations to neighbouring countries, including the CSTO’s Asian member states. Putin noted that no matter how the situation evolves in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the coalition troops, the CSTO countries should not be caught off guard and should take effort to prevent threats, including by strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border.