Russia, US should jointly address recent Afghan violence:Karzai

Says the American operation should not continue in the country

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Russia should enter into dialogue with the United States to help address a recent uplift in violence in the country.
In an interview with Sputnik TV, Karzai said Afghanistan wants the widest possible cooperation with Russia in the political, economic and diplomatic fields as it is in the interest of both nations.
The former president added that Afghanistan wants Russia to enter into dialogue with the US and other players in order to see what is really happening in Afghanistan and how they can help.
Karzai opined that the American strategy in Afghanistan had failed, but also noted that there was no need for Russian military intervention in the country.

“We do not want this. Neither do we want the Americans to continue their military operations. We want the cooperation with the US to be aimed only at combating terrorism and not to damage our positions in the region and our relations with our neighbors. Afghanistan should be a place for cooperation, rather than regional rivalry,” he added.
He also added that the US should reconsider its Afghanistan policy so that the country is no longer seen as a point of contention between superpowers.
According to Karzai, Afghanistan, as an independent sovereign state, cannot build relations based on US strategic interests in the region. “We must build up relations with Russia and other neighbouring countries on a bilateral and mutually beneficial basis, based on our interests and the interests of these countries.”