how Russia and the CIS countries intend to interact on the Afghan issue – RT in Russian
President Vladimir Putin said that the situation is in Afghanistan. According to him, the current situation requires the intensification of joint efforts by the Commonwealth, primarily in the counter-terrorism and anti-drug sectors. Putin also supports supporting the inter-Afghan reconciliation process, calling on the state to support the work of the enlarged troika and the Moscow format. Experts note the importance of contacts between the Russian Federation and the countries on the Afghan issue. At the same time, they emphasize that the world has to “clean up the consequences of the actions of the United States and NATO in Afghanistan.”
The situation in Afghanistan, which carries risks for Central Asia and the entire space, concerns about this. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during an online meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth.
“The situation calls for stepping up joint efforts, primarily in the counter-terrorism and anti-drug sectors,” – the Russian leader.
According to him, extremist and terrorist groups, including ISIS *, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ** and Al-Qaeda ***, are clearly visible up close.
Also on the topic
“Open to cooperation”: how Russia intends to interact with the West on the Afghan issue
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is open for cooperation with Washington, Brussels, as well as with the North Atlantic …
“According to our data, the number of ISIS members in the north of Afghanistan is about two thousand people. Their leaders are hatching plans to spread their influence over the Central Asian states, over the Russian countries, and are betting on inciting ethnic and confessional conflicts and religious hatred. Terrorists strive to penetrate the territory of the Commonwealth, including to represent the interests of Russia, ”the Russian president said.
Putin also touched upon the topic of the transitional government formed by the Taliban ****, noting that it is not the entire palette of Afghan society.
“At the same time, an intention to hold general elections has been announced, measures have been taken to resume the normal work of government bodies. For these promises to be, they must be used together with them.
In particular, Putin pointed to the need to support the inter-Afghan reconciliation process and strive to normalize the situation in Afghanistan.
“We are all mentally resuming the work of the enlarged troika participating in the Central Asian countries, including the Central Asian countries. We are conducting business in the near future within the framework of these mechanisms in Moscow. “
-
Russian President Vladimir Putin
-
kremlin.ru
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier, the Moscow format is “all the Central Asian countries, Iran, China, Pakistan, India, the United States, Russia and the Afghans themselves.”
According to the Russian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan, director of the Second Asia Department of the Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov, the Moscow format meeting will take place on October 20. During the day of this meeting of the “expanded troika” (Russia, USA, China, Pakistan).
The fact that the military-political crisis in the Islamic republic is a serious threat to the security of the CIS countries, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. According to him, Dushanbe expects that the proposed idea of creating a single terrorist organizations and extremist organizations blocked on the territory of the CIS countries will be implemented.
Afghan question
Recall that the situation in Afghanistan was destabilized after the United States and then NATO countries began to withdraw their contingent from the Islamic republic. Against this background, the terrorist group Taliban and government forces have become bitter. As a result, the Taliban managed to gain control over almost the entire territory of the state, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in September during a press conference following the high-level week of the 76th session of the General Assembly in New York, the hasty withdrawal of US troops and other NATO countries “was carried out without understanding the consequences”, as a result of which a lot of weapons.
Also on the topic
“The world is forced to deal with a heap of problems”: what the 20-year presence of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan led to
On October 7, 2001, the military operation of the United States and its allies began in Afghanistan. The American authorities called her goal …
“Apparently, we all need to make sure that these weapons are not used for non-constructive purposes,” Lavrov allowed, recalling that the Taliban promised to fight extremism and terrorism, including IS and Al-Qaeda, and also “not to project “Instability on their neighbors.”
As a Russian minister, the most important thing now is “to keep these promises.” At the same time, he notes that the priority of the Russian Federation is the inadmissibility of the spread of extremism to neighboring states and terrorist threats in Afghanistan.
“We will in every possible way support the resolve of the Taliban, which they declared, to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups, to ensure that it is embodied in practical steps,” Lavrov said.
In October, at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries participating in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the Russian Foreign Minister will send NATO to redeploy its forces from Afghanistan to other zones of the Asian region. At the same time, according to Lavrov, the bloc bypasses the issue of the responsibility of the alliance for the consequences of its “twenty-year experiments” on the territory of Afghanistan.
-
Afghan refugees
-
© REUTERS / Mohammad Ismail
“By solving the problems of the widespread community, especially the neighbors of Afghanistan,” he added.
“Synchronize Actions”
According to Alexei Podberezkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military-Political Research, the main danger for Russia and the countries is the terrorist threat that has repeatedly arisen in connection with the situation in Afghanistan.
“If the current Taliban government cannot take control of the situation, extremely radical other terrorist groups will impose their vision on it. It is in order to synchronize actions to resolve this problem that next week there will be two international meetings – the enlarged troika and the Moscow format. At the same time, the President of Russia did not in vain the country to support the work of these sites. After all, the question in one way or another concerns all the states of the Commonwealth, especially Tajikistan, “- an expert in an interview with RT.
Podberezkin recalled that this republic has the longest border with Afghanistan.
“In addition, a significant number of Tajiks live in Afghan territories,” the analyst added.
Also on the topic
“Payment for other people’s geopolitical ambitions”: why in Europe they called a mistake in bringing US troops into Afghanistan
More than 40% of Europeans believe that the introduction of American troops into Afghanistan was a mistake. This is evidenced by the survey data, …
He also noted that the unstable situation in Afghanistan.
“Therefore, the Afghan issue worries not only Russia, but all the states of the Commonwealth,” Podberezkin said.
In turn, orientalist, political scientist Elena Suponina believes that Vladimir Putin’s statement indicates that Russia understands the seriousness of the situation around Afghanistan.
“The words of the Russian leader also indicate that Moscow is ready to continue to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism emanating from the Islamic republic with other states,” she explained in a conversation with RT.
For this reason, the issue of interaction between countries is extremely important, Suponina noted.
“The hasty and poorly organized American withdrawal from Afghanistan has increased the terrorist threat and the threat of drug trafficking. “This cannot be done without a very close Russia between Russia and the other Commonwealths,” the analyst said.
The international community now has to “sort out the consequences of the actions of the US and NATO in Afghanistan,” said Alexei Podberezkin.
“The United States of America accidentally weapons in the republic, which have now fallen into the hands of various terrorist groups. All this was done to destabilize the situation in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a whole. Washington deliberately decided to create a zone of turbulence in this region, ”the expert said.
-
Withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan
-
© ZUMA Wire / Legion Media
Podberezkin explained that in such conditions, the Russian Federation and other countries are not in a hurry to recognize the Taliban rule for nothing.
“With this approach, Moscow aims to strengthen interaction with a Taliban representative. – added the expert.
At the same time, Podberezkin drew attention to the colossal experience of Russia in negotiations with the Taliban.
“Moscow has been conducting a dialogue with the Taliban for a long time, and Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are actively establishing contacts with it,” the analyst, expressing hope for a positive result, which will be held in Moscow next week.
“I am sure that after the declarations, during and after these meetings, new steps will be taken to normalize the situation in Afghanistan,” the expert concluded.
* “Islamic State” (IS) – the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.
** “Islamic Party of Turkestan” (formerly “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan”) – the organization was recognized as a terrorist organization by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.
*** “Al-Qaeda” – the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.
**** “Taliban” – the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.