Separating Russia From Afghanistan, Difficult Way To Reach Peace
KABUL: (MEP) Russia after defeat in Afghanistan and its withdrawal in the country, did not enter into Afghanistan’s domestic issues anymore until the rise of Islamic State (IS) terrorist group brought Moscow once again to the country.
Russian president Vladimir Putin openly declared that it will target the Islamic State positions in Syria and Afghanistan and it does not need other countries’ approval.
Russia now seems to be pulling back from cooperating with the U.S and the American-backed Afghan government, the New York Times reported.
“We won’t join the useless events, and we’ve already told the Americans,” President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told Russian state news media this month. Russia, he said, would sit out any talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government; talks by the United States, Pakistan and China, reported the newspaper.
“Honestly speaking, we’re already tired of joining anything Washington starts,” Mr. Kabulov said. The Kremlin, he added, “has no desire to participate in what the Americans organize ‘on the fly’ just for their own pre-election interests and where they give us the role of extras on the set.”
On an old Cold War battlefield where Russia fought a nearly decade-long war against United States-supplied fighters, Moscow has a new strategy: the cold shoulder.
Atiqullah Amarkhail, a military expert told MiddleEastPress that Russian’s separation from the political and technical point of view has its negative impacts on Afghanistan, especially on peace process of the country.
According to him, from a policy perspective, a number of Taliban leaders are linked with Russia and Moscow has its influence on them that can invite them to peace talks.
Russia has reinforced its largest foreign military base in Tajikistan, along the border with Afghanistan, and the Russian military has held regular exercises with Tajik soldiers. The Kremlin has committed $1.2 billion to train and equip the Tajik Army, forming a new bulwark in Central Asia north of Afghanistan.
The newspaper stated that Kabulov also recently said Russia had opened direct channels of communication with the Taliban to exchange information about militants in northern Afghanistan allied with Islamic State. However, the Taliban has denied these claims.
The development comes as Russia is set to begin the fourth round of peace talks in which the “roadmap” peace is expected to be determined in Kabul.
