Index

U.S., Russia Agree on Afghanistan Anti-Terrorism Measures

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman October 18, 2000 JOINT STATEMENT BY THE U.S.-RUSSIA WORKING GROUP ON AFGHANISTAN Moscow, Russia The U.S.-Russia Working Group on Afghanistan held its second session in Moscow on October 17-18, 2000. The working group, which reports to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, was established pursuant to discussions between Presidents Clinton and Putin at their Moscow Summit meetings in June 2000 to explore ways to stem the threats to the international community from Taliban support for terrorist activities and narcotics production. The October meetings followed closely the conclusions and next steps agreed at the inaugural session of the working group in Washington, D.C., on August 1-2. The Moscow meetings were co-chaired by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas R. Pickering and First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov and involved participation from high-level experts from both governments. The sides agreed that the situation in and around Afghanistan continues to threaten regional and international security. The main focus of the talks was on imposing additional UN sanctions against the Taliban and strengthening those already in effect. The sides also agreed on the need to implement provisions of the regional action plan on counternarcotics adopted by the Six-Plus-Two group in New York in September. The U.S. and Russia agreed to continue their efforts to persuade the Taliban to cease their support for terrorism and close terrorist training camps; comply with UN Security Council resolution 1267; render Osama bin Ladin to justice; commit to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan; end their support of illegal narcotics production and trafficking; and accept international standards on human rights, including with regard to the status and treatment of women and girls. The U.S. and Russia agreed to continue, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora, to review specific measures to counter the threats from terrorism and narcotics production emanating from Afghan territory.