Russia says Afghan president fled with cars, helicopter full of cash: report

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered Kabul. (File)

Moscow:

The Russian embassy in Kabul said on Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave money behind because not everything would return, reported the RIA news agency.

Ghani, whose current fate is unknown, said he left Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban entered Kabul with virtually no opposition. He said he wanted to avoid the bloodshed.

Russia has said it will maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hopes to develop ties with the Taliban although it says it is in no rush to recognize them as the country’s rulers and will watch their behavior closely. .

“As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterized by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan,” said Nikita Ishchenko, spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Kabul, cited by RIA.

“Four cars were full of money, they tried to put another part of the money in a helicopter, but it all didn’t fit. And part of the money stayed on the tarmac,” he reportedly said.

Ischenko, spokesman for the Russian embassy, ​​confirmed his remarks to Reuters. He cited “witnesses” as the source of his information. Reuters could not independently confirm the veracity of his account immediately.

President Vladimir Putin’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was not clear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind.

“I hope the government that fled did not take all the money from the state budget. It will be the basis of the budget if anything remains,” Kabulov told Moscow radio Ekho Moskvy.

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