Only Russia can help us, says former Afghan president

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Russia is the only force which can help Afghanistan fight terrorism.

In an interview with Russian news channel, he remarked: “I understand perfectly well that if you [Russia] build new relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan, you can help us.”

He said that neither US nor Britain can help Afghanistan. “Not the Britons as we kicked them out of the country several times, not the Americans as they've been killing us for 17 years, but Russia only. We [Afghanistan] are the last barrier from terrorists. We've been fighting continuously for a century and a half," he added.

"Moscow has always helped us, even when its forces invaded Afghanistan at the invitation of then-president Babrak Karmal. We surely fought each other at those times, but you [Russia] used to build schools and hospitals in Afghanistan.”

He alleged: “Americans lie when they say that Al-Qaeda emerged as the result of your [Russia’s] invasion. They wanted to be the only superpower and they did it. The USSR collapsed and one of the reasons was the Afghan war."

The former Afghan president also criticised the presence of US in Afghanistan. "Nothing flies without their permission. They have mercenaries in Afghanistan with their own army, aviation and security service. I tried to kick them out of the country, but I failed," Karzai concluded.