Taleban warns Russia

Masood leads the opposition forces against the Taleban

Afghanistan's ruling Taleban has warned Russia of grave consequences if it backed opposition forces in the north of the country.

The comments followed a meeting between Russia's Defence Minister, Igor Sergeyev, and Afghan opposition commander Ahmed Shah Masood in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Mr Masood leads the anti-Taleban Northern Alliance, which holds on to the only bit of Afghanistan outside Taleban control.

Central Asia is slowly becoming the capital of international terrorism, with Islamic extremists trying to redraw the map of the region

Igor Sergeyev

A senior Taleban spokesman said Russia should stop interfering in Afghanistan.

"The consequences would be very dangerous if it continues to do so," the spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutmaen, said.

"We can create lots of problems for the Russians and impart heavy losses on them," he said.

Reports say Igor Sergeyev and Mr Masood discussed the situation in northern Afghanistan and the opposition's resistance to the Taleban.

There has been an upsurge of fighting recently, with the Taleban capturing the key opposition stronghold of Taloqan. This has pushed the Northern Alliance further up, close to the Tajik border.

It has also increased fears among Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbours, such as Iran, that the fighting could spill over.

"There is no military way to resolve the Afghan problem. All parties must come to the negotiating table and create a government with the participation of all political forces and ethnic groups," Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharazi said.

Terrorism

The Russian defence minister is in Dushanbe to hold discussions with his counterparts from 11 former Soviet republics.

Igor Sergeyev: Afghanistan is a centre of terrorism and drug trafficking

He said the meeting would discuss steps to create an effective, regional security system.

"Central Asia is slowly becoming the capital of international terrorism, with Islamic extremists trying to redraw the map of the region," he said.

Russia says the Taleban regime in Afghanistan is promoting Islamic terrorism in the neighbourhood in conjunction with the drug trade.

"Afghanistan has turned into a centre of production for drugs and weapons, which are then transported through Central Asia, Russia and then on to Europe," Mr Sergeyev said.

Russia also accuses the Taleban of supporting rebels in Chechnya, and in May threatened to carry out air strikes against suspected Chechen rebel bases in Afghanistan.