Translated material
Do not forgive and do not write off
Russia demands recognition of debt from Afghanistan
Yesterday in London, at an international conference on Afghanistan, in which Afghan President Hamid Karzai took part, an agreement was signed defining the further role of the international community in the development of this country and the strategy for this development itself. In recent years, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized in his speech, “the new government in Afghanistan has gradually proven its viability.” Moscow, however, is concerned about the trend of the Taliban returning to power, whom Mr. Lavrov yesterday called “accomplices of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda” in a conversation with Russian journalists.The Afghanistan agreement now emphasizes the leading role of Afghans in building the army, police, justice system and in the fight against drugs. In September 2005, parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan. The first parliamentary meeting since 1973 took place in December. Now the main tasks are to ensure security, respect for human rights, and develop democratic institutions.
Yesterday in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that his government would allocate about $900 million to Afghanistan over the next three years. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that her country would provide assistance to Kabul in the amount of $1.1 billion over the next year. Russia, as recalled Yesterday, Mr. Lavrov, for the period from 2002 to 2005, provided assistance to the new Afghan government in the amount of $30 million. Equipment worth over $200 million was supplied to the Afghan army.
The complex problem of Afghanistan's debt to Russia was discussed in London by Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Sergei Storchak with Afghan colleagues. Afghanistan's debt, accumulated since Soviet times, is estimated at $10 billion, based on the Soviet exchange rate of 60 kopecks. for a dollar. “We are ready to cancel part of the debt based on a bilateral agreement. The main thing is that this must be accompanied by recognition by the Afghans of this debt and its reconciliation,” Mr. Storchak explained to Vremya Novostey.
He did not hide the fact that the Afghans still refuse to acknowledge their debt to the Soviet Union. On the contrary, there are proposals to sue Moscow for “damage” from military operations in Afghanistan during the presence of Soviet troops there.
However, if the Afghans recognize the debt, and the strange idea of receiving compensation is forgotten, then Russia is ready to solve the problem in the Paris Club. As a result, the debt can be canceled by almost one hundred percent. “Not written off or forgiven, but annulled,” clarifies Mr. Storchak. In financier jargon, this means that first Kabul must admit the very fact of the existence of debt.