Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States used the international response to the September 11, 2001 attacks to expand its geopolitical influence in Afghanistan and other regions, arguing that Washington’s military interventions went far beyond the fight against terrorism.
Speaking in an interview with Russian media outlet RBC on Wednesday, Lavrov accused the United States of exploiting the global solidarity that followed the 9/11 attacks and the UN Security Council resolutions adopted afterward to pursue broader strategic objectives. He said Washington’s military campaign was aimed not only at defeating terrorist groups but also at strengthening its political and military presence in key regions.
“The United States used that international solidarity and the UN resolution authorizing military operations not so much to fight terrorism as to implement geopolitical plans and expand its influence,” Lavrov said, according to the interview.
Lavrov argued that the same approach later appeared in other conflicts, including Iraq and Libya, where he said the United States pursued regime change and strategic influence under the banner of counterterrorism or international security.
His remarks come as Russia has increasingly criticized U.S. foreign policy and NATO’s role in global conflicts, particularly amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Western governments over Ukraine and broader international security issues.
The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 after al-Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Washington said the military operation was aimed at dismantling al-Qaeda and removing the Taliban government for sheltering Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders.
The U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan lasted nearly two decades before American and NATO forces withdrew in August 2021, paving the way for the Taliban’s return to power. Since then, Russia has expanded diplomatic engagement with the Taliban authorities while continuing to argue that Western intervention left Afghanistan politically unstable.
Lavrov’s comments reflect Moscow’s longstanding narrative that U.S. military interventions were driven by geopolitical ambitions rather than solely by counterterrorism objectives. Washington has consistently maintained that its operations in Afghanistan were launched in response to the 9/11 attacks and were focused on preventing future terrorist threats.
The September 11 attacks remain one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history. Two hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center in New York, a third crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers resisted the hijackers, according to official U.S. accounts.