Ashraf Ghani

Gulf Today Report

The Russian Information Agency quoted the Russian embassy in Kabul as saying that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter loaded with money and had to leave some money because there was no room for it.

Ghani, whose whereabouts are not known, said he left Afghanistan on Sunday when the Taliban invaded Kabul without resistance.

Ghani told media he wanted to avoid bloodshed. Russia said it would maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hope to establish contacts with the Taliban

Russia will not rush to establish relation with Taliban and will closely monitor its behavior.

The agency quoted Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Kabul, as saying, "With the collapse of the old regime, it is very evident in the way that Ghani escaped from Afghanistan with four cars loaded with money. Some money was thrown on the tarmac.

Zamir Kabulov, special representative of the Russian President Putin in Afghanistan, previously said that it is not yet clear how much money the government has left behind.

"I hope the fleeing government has not taken all the money from the state budget," Kabulov told Ekho Moskvy radio station in Moscow.

If something is left out, it will be the cornerstone of the budget.