Emergency United Nations Meeting On Afghanistan Planned, Says Russia

Russia is working with other countries to hold an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan as the Taliban completes its military takeover of the country, foreign ministry official Zamir Kabulov told Russian news agencies.

"We are working on this," Mr Kabulov said, adding that the meeting will take place.

Russia is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, Britain, France, and China.

Mr Kabulov also said Moscow does not plan to evacuate its embassy in Kabul, saying the Taliban had offered Russia and other countries -- which he did not name -- security assurances for their missions in Afghanistan.

Leonid Slutsky, foreign affairs chief in the lower house of the Russian parliament, said the situation in Afghanistan required the "immediate intervention" of the UN Security Council.

"It is important to prevent a new humanitarian catastrophe," he said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

The US and other countries rushed to evacuate their citizens from the capital as Taliban fighters stood on the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday.

The Taliban is on the brink of a complete military takeover of Afghanistan. The group's spokesman said the fighters had been ordered not to enter the city.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)