Translated material
Afghanistan is not Iraq
Putin explained this to Karzai
The problem of Afghanistan's debt to Russia (more precisely, to the former USSR), amounting, according to Moscow's estimates, to $10 billion, is key in Russian-Afghan relations. The fact is that, according to Russian legislation, the Russian government does not have the right to provide financial assistance or issue any loans to countries whose debt obligations towards Moscow have not been settled, or even less recognized. This explains the statement on this issue made in London on the eve of the international conference on Afghanistan by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak.It is no coincidence that this topic became one of the main topics in the conversation between Vladimir Putin and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, which took place in Astana on January 11 during the celebrations on the occasion of the inauguration of the President of Kazakhstan. Russian-Afghan negotiations found themselves on the periphery of public attention in those days - they were overshadowed by the dramatic ups and downs of the gas war between Ukraine and Russia and the results of the negotiations between Putin and Yushchenko.
Responding to Kabul's expectations about writing off its debt to Moscow, the Russian president openly made it clear even then that recognition of this debt by the Afghan leadership alone would not be enough. In 2003-2004, Russia wrote off several tens of billions of dollars of debt to Baghdad in hopes of receiving preferences when receiving contracts for the development of Iraqi oil fields. But this experience turned out to be sad.
Moscow does not want to repeat this path. After all, she will have to explain to the Russians the reasons for such charity and answer the question of what Russia will receive from Kabul in return. According to Vremya Novostey, Putin in Astana asked Karzai to find compelling arguments in favor of debt cancellation that would help the Kremlin gain the support of Russian society on this issue. We are talking about participation in specific projects to restore the Afghan economy, which Kabul could offer to Russia. The Russian President himself suggested that it would be interesting for Moscow to continue geological exploration in search of oil, gas and ore deposits that began in Afghanistan during the Soviet era, and to participate in the development of reserves already discovered then. Moreover, geologists and specialists who took part in those surveys are still alive in Russia.
Hamid Karzai promised Vladimir Putin to instruct his specialists to prepare such proposals. The Afghan leader assured that interest in economic cooperation with Russia in his country has been steadily increasing recently. Moscow is also ready to give specific proposals on this topic.
An interesting discussion, according to VN, took place between the Russian and Afghan presidents regarding the role of the Taliban in the current political situation in Afghanistan. One of the reasons for the conversation was the news that the Kabul leadership was allegedly ready to make reconciliation with the former leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar. When asked by Putin, Karzai replied that this news was the result of an incorrect interpretation of the statements of his press secretary. In fact, the Afghan president said, the discussion was only about the conditions for Mullah Omar's surrender to the authorities.
Developing the topic, Putin warned Karzai against illusions associated with the hope of finding support among the former leaders of the Taliban - “they still don’t recognize you as one of their own...” According to the Russian president, Kabul can only receive real support from those with weapons I fought with the Taliban in my hands, even though they are sometimes not easy to work with. We are talking about representatives of the former Northern Alliance of Afghanistan, despite the fact that some of them are political opponents of Hamid Karzai.
The President of Afghanistan responded by sharing his thoughts on who he sees as convinced Taliban and, therefore, his opponents, and who are just besotted with propaganda from hostile forces in states neighboring Afghanistan. He classifies the latter as simple, uneducated Pashtuns, on whom the Taliban mullahs and their foreign sponsors have placed their bets. These explanations obviously found understanding on the part of Putin.