MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) - Russia is an important regional and global actor, which should be cooperated with, especially in the fight against terrorism, Afghan Chief Executive (Prime Minister) Abdullah Abdullah told the newspaper Izvestia in an interview published on Wednesday.
"Russia is an important regional and global actor. It has arranged a series of Moscow conferences supporting the peace process, not to mention the role it is playing at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The threats we are combating, for instance, terrorism, are also faced by Central Asian republics and Russia. Thus, it is important to cooperate and coordinate our efforts more closely," Abdullah said.
Speaking of future economic and social cooperation with Russia, Abdullah said the Afghan government welcomed the participation of Russian companies in Afghan reconstruction projects.
"Russia provides scholarships to our students in various fields of training. This is important to us. Trade between Afghanistan and Russia is at a good level, but still has growth potential. We also welcome the participation of Russian companies in the reconstruction of our country. As I have said before, we have many security concerns, but we also have big potential," he said.
Afghanistan and Russia "have established a good dialogue," Abdullah said.
"I had a chance to speak with Prime Minister [Dmitry] Medvedev today [at the December 1 meeting of the SCO prime ministers], I also held negotiations with Russian Security Council Secretary [Nikolai] Patrushev in Moscow. We conferred on various issues, and we will continue doing so. I believe we agree that terrorist groups constitute a common threat," Abdullah said.
Afghanistan and Russia "should find a way to deal with them [terrorist groups]," he said.
"At least we should share a vision of the situation. Hopefully, we can do so. An exchange of information is in our interests; we should think on what we can do. Besides, Moscow has influence on certain countries supporting the Taliban (banned in Russia). This gives us a window of opportunity. Here is a framework in which we can cooperate," Abdullah said.