The deputy ambassador of Russia in Kabul, Anton Lavrov, said that Moscow is interested in providing support to Afghanistan.

A Russian military aircraft loaded with 16 tons of humanitarian assistance landed in Kabul airport on Wednesday, said Lavrov. The aid was set to help the people who have been affected by the earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan.

Lavrov said he hopes the cooperation of Russia and Afghanistan in providing humanitarian aid will be continued and he is hopeful that another shipment of humanitarian aid from Russia will arrive in Afghanistan in the coming days.

He called on the international community to not politicize aid to Afghanistan.

“I hope the friendly relations between Russia and Afghanistan improve,” Lavrov said.

The deputy State Ministry for Disaster Management, Ghulam Ghaws Nasiri, also emphasized that the humanitarian aid should not be politicalized.

“We have said it many times that the humanitarian aid should not be politicalized but unfortunately it has been politicalized so far. This is the time that the frozen assets of the people of Afghanistan should be freed to alleviate the problems of the people,” he said.

Earlier, the State Ministry for Disaster Management said that more than 1,000 people had been killed and more than 1,600 others had been wounded in the earthquake that affected the southeastern province of Paktika and Khost.