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Russia Says No Plan to Evacuate Kabul Embassy

By AFP
Taliban fighters in the captured eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday. TASS

Russia does not plan to evacuate its embassy in Kabul as Taliban fighters reached the outskirts of the Afghan capital in their blistering military takeover of the country, foreign ministry official Zamir Kabulov told Russian agencies Sunday.

"No evacuation is planned," Kabulov said, adding that he was "in direct contact" with Moscow's ambassador in Kabul and that Russian embassy employees continued to work "calmly". 

According to the RIA Novosti agency, Kabulov also said that Russia was among a number of countries to receive assurances from the Taliban that their embassies would be safe. 

"We received these guarantees a while ago. It was not only about Russia," RIA Novosti quoted Kabulov as saying.

The United States and other countries rushed to evacuate their citizens from the capital as Taliban fighters stood on the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday. 

The Taliban is on the brink of a complete military takeover of Afghanistan.  

The militant group's spokesman said the fighters had been ordered not to enter the city. 

Kabul residents reported seeing insurgents peacefully enter some of Kabul's outer suburbs. 

Read more about: Afghanistan , Taliban

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