The government of Afghanistan, led by the Taliban, has sought assistance from Russia for rescue and relief operations following one of the most devastating earthquakes in recent years that struck the nation overnight, a high-ranking Russian official stated on Monday.
“They have reached out, and our Ministry of Emergency Situations is addressing the matter,” said Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, in an interview with the state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti.
As of Monday evening, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry had not yet made an official comment regarding Kabulov’s remarks.
The earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 6.0, hit eastern Afghanistan just before midnight on Sunday, claiming the lives of approximately 800 individuals in the remote Kunar province and another 12 in the nearby Nangarhar province. Both Nangarhar and Kunar provinces share borders with Pakistan.
The epicenter of the quake was located roughly 27 kilometers (17 miles) from Jalalabad, a city in Nangarhar province, as reported by the US Geological Survey (USGS), which noted that it occurred at a depth of about 8 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface.
Earlier on Monday, a spokesperson from Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry mentioned that none of the foreign governments had offered help for rescue or relief efforts up to that point.
Russia, which was the first nation to officially recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan last July, has not yet publicly expressed condolences to the Taliban. President Vladimir Putin is currently in China attending a regional summit and commemorating World War II victories.
Ravil Gainutdin, the head of the Council of Muftis, a religious organization representing Russia’s Muslim community, extended his personal condolences to both the Taliban and the Afghan populace.
The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after toppling the U.S.-supported government and implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Since then, Russia has been working to establish normalized relations with the Taliban leadership, having removed them from their list of “terrorist organizations” in April and accepting a Taliban ambassador in Kabul.
In a statement made in July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the Taliban as “partners in the battle against terrorism.”
Reporting contributed by AFP.
