Russia explains the need for the Taliban presence in Afghanistan

MOSCOW (Monitoring Desk): The presence of the Taliban in the north of Afghanistan will restrain the growth of threats from the terrorist group “Islamic State” for the countries of Central Asia, said the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov.

“Numerous other international terrorist organizations have been based on these territories for a long time – I would put ISIS in the first place, But there are still about twenty smaller, but no less harmful terrorist groups that, for tactical reasons, cooperate with each other … So they could take advantage of the chaotic situation in northern Afghanistan and try to use it to undermine stability in Afghanistan’s neighboring states, “Kabulov said, speaking at an online roundtable organized by the Public Diplomacy Support Fund.

“The Taliban have very bad relations with ISIS, and the Taliban have been actively fighting the ISIS all these years, which cannot be said about the Americans together with NATO , or about the current Afghan government. And, oddly enough, the very presence of the Taliban in these territories will deter growing threats from ISIS and other international terrorists against Central Asian states, “Kabulov added.

The Taliban movement in the near future does not pose a threat to the security of the Central Asian countries, there is not a single fact proving that the Taliban tried to cross the borders with neighboring Department of Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Zamir Kabulov.

“In the short term, the Taliban movement has no threat to the Central Asian countries when we talk about the Taliban movement. The Taliban movement not only in words, but also in deeds shows that they are engaged in purely domestic political tasks. Yes, it is fighting the current Afghan government for influence in the country, seizes control over a number of counties, tries to control the provinces, many of these counties and provinces just happened to be along the Afghan border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, “Kabulov said, speaking at a round table organized by the Fund support of public diplomacy to them. Gorchakov.

“But there is not a single fact that the Taliban tried to cross these borders, violate them and threaten their northern neighbors,” Kabulov added.

The United States made several strategic mistakes in Afghanistan , one of which was the imposition of American ideas about democracy on the Afghan people, said the Russian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan.

“The result of the current situation in Afghanistan stems from the strategic mistakes that the United States and its allies made in pursuing their Afghan policy. take advantage of the situation to create on its territory an extensive network of military bases that would project power over the entire region adjacent to Afghanistan, including the Russian Federation, not to mention other direct neighbors of Afghanistan, “Kabulov said.

Kabulov noted that the United States “got the opposite of the desired result.”

“The second mistake, which I consider strategic: instead of simply helping Afghanistan to develop, to develop its state institutions and economy, relying on Afghan traditions, they engaged in democratization and imposing their own ideas about democracy, and failed,” the Russian diplomat added.

Russia regrets that the current situation in Iran-US relations does not allow Tehran to join the Extended Troika on Peaceful Settlement in Afghanistan (Russia, the US, China and Pakistan), Zamir Kabulov said.

“When the Extended Troika was established, the parties were guided by the understanding that Iran would be its fifth member. However, given the well-known situation in relations between Iran and the United States, the Iranians are for political and ideological reasons unwilling to come to the same negotiation table with the Americans and address issues.

It is their right,” Kabulov emphasized. “However, we regret it as we indeed miss Iran as a partner because, at this stage, it would be important for us to work together with the Iranians, Pakistanis, Chinese and Americans to end the stalemate in the political settlement process in Afghanistan,” he added.

According to the Russian presidential envoy, Iran is one of the key players on the “Afghan track.” “Personally, I think that it is Pakistan and Iran that are the most important and influential countries in terms of the Afghan issue,” Kabulov pointed out.

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