By Ebi Kesiena
The Russian Embassy in Kabul has stated that Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani fled the country with four vehicles and a helicopter full of cash.
According to Russia, the embattled leader left the presidential palace in Kabul due to the overthrow of the Taliban insurgent fighters who had overthrown his government.
Ghani who spoke via facebook, noted that the decision was necessitated to avoid bloodshed, adding that it was best for him to leave the country.
Reports have it that the former World Bank scholar, who has a PhD from Columbia University in New York, didn’t say where he was going, but later said he had flown to Uzbekistan.
Spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Kabul, Nikita Ihchenko insisted that the collapse of Ghani’s regime was also caused by the way he fled from Afghanistan.
“Four cars were full of money, they tried to put another part of the money in a helicopter, but all of them didn’t fit, and part of the money stayed on the tarmac,” said Ishchenko.
The spokesman confirmed his words to the press and named “witnesses” as the source of his information.
Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, previously said 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 out of the state budget. It will be the basis of the budget if there is anything left,” he said.
However, the Russian government has stated that its ambassador to Afghanistan would meet with the Taliban soon and that Moscow would decide whether or not to recognize the new government based on its behavior.
“Our ambassador is in contact with the Taliban leadership, he will meet with the Taliban’s security coordinator and the talks will focus on how the group intends to ensure the security of the Russian embassy in Kabul,” he said.
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