After reports surfaced suggesting the Taliban were interested in purchasing air defense systems from Russia, the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense now states that these reports are incorrect and that there have been no discussions with Russian officials regarding the purchase of anti-aircraft equipment.
Tarz Press: Inayatullah Khwarazmi, spokesperson for the Taliban's Ministry of Defense, wrote on his X page that comments by Abdul Basir Sabari, head of logistics at the Ministry of Defense, had been distorted. On Thursday, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing Sabari, that the Taliban government would be interested in purchasing air defense equipment from Russia if conditions allowed. TASS quoted Abdul Basir as saying, "When the conditions are right, we will acquire this equipment from you."
This comes despite Taliban officials repeatedly mentioning their need for air defense systems and acknowledging that Afghanistan's airspace has been violated several times by unidentified aircraft.
