MOSCOW (Dispatches) - The United States’ 20-year campaign in Afghanistan ended in tragedies and Washington achieved nothing, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that the U.S. army’s attempt to ingrain their norms in Afghanistan was futile.
Speaking on Wednesday at a meeting with teenagers in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok to mark the start of the school year, he said: “American troops were present on that territory (of Afghanistan) for 20 years, and over those 20 years they were trying – this can be said without offending anyone – to civilize the local people, but in fact, to impose their norms and standards of life in the broadest sense of this word, including the political organization of society.
The Russian president added that “tragedies and losses [...] pertaining to the U.S. and especially those who live in Afghanistan” were the results of this nearly 20-year presence.
“The result was zero, if not to say that everything turned negative,” Putin noted.