MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar has given Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a message from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he says he expects the two countries to pursue friendly relations and partnership.
"I have a very important and special mission. President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan would like to personally offer and express his gratitude for the support and assistance that Russia has provided to Afghanistan and the Afghani people over the past 20 years," Atmar said at the outset of negotiations with Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.
Russia's support is especially valuable amid the pandemic, he said.
The Afghan president wanted to tell Putin through the Russian foreign minister that "Afghanistan is Russia's friend and partner, a country that wishes to be friends with the state and the people of the Russian Federation," Atmar said.
Friendship between Afghanistan and Russia is of great significance and meets the two countries' common interests, he said.
"These common interests are combating international terrorism, extremism, various forms of violence, drug trafficking, and others. And here we could certainly combat these threats together," Atmar said.
"We attach huge importance to our relations both inside and outside the region. I'd like to assure you that we are absolutely sincere about our interrelations, and we are determined to develop and strengthen these relations. We would also like to start an absolutely fresh page in interrelations between our states," he said.