Translated material
Kabul asks Moscow for help
Economic and military
The development of relations with Russia is “a priority of Afghanistan’s foreign policy, both in a bilateral format and within the framework of international organizations, for example the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.” These words, pleasant for Russian ears, were spoken yesterday at the end of a two-day visit to Moscow by Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta after negotiations with his colleague Sergei Lavrov. For the head of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, this is already the second trip to the Russian capital; the first time he visited here was in October 2006.Sergei Lavrov persistently drew the guest's attention to the desirability of interaction with Kabul not only within the SCO, but also through the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Moscow believes that in order to effectively combat terrorism and the Afghan drug threat, “it is necessary to establish cooperation with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries” and, according to Lavrov, “the regional organizations of the SCO and the CSTO represent good additional opportunities.”
The Russian minister, however, did not mention in this regard the initiative of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, which he put forward in April at the NATO summit in Bucharest. Mr. Karimov proposed resuming the activities of the group of “neighbors and friends of Afghanistan”, “6+2” (Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and the United States), which functioned before the events of September 11, 2001, and even transforming it in “6+3”, adding NATO to “friends”.
This silence is not accidental. Moscow is apparently aware of Kabul’s negative reaction to this Tashkent initiative. The Afghan leadership, according to Vremya Novostei, does not consider it acceptable to create a structure in whose activities Kabul itself is not involved in any way, especially with the goal of achieving reconciliation with the Taliban, in which Pakistan plays an active role.
Rangin Dadfar Spanta did not support the topic of cooperation with Afghanistan’s neighbors and delicately remained silent when it came to cooperation with the CSTO. And only during the final press conference did he note that in Kabul they consider it more preferable to build up bilateral cooperation with Russia on security issues in Central Asia, rather than bloc cooperation with the same CSTO.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow is actively participating in the preparation of the international conference on Afghanistan, which is due to take place in the first half of June in Paris. “We expect that Russia, as during the London conference (on Afghanistan - Ed. ), this time will support our position and advocate for stability, security and strengthening of statehood in Afghanistan,” said Mr. Spanta upon arrival in Moscow to the news agency Afghanistan.ru.
Economic projects were also discussed during the meeting. Among them, according to VN, is Russian participation in the reconstruction of the tunnel under the Salang pass, through which the strategic route connecting the north of the country with Kabul passes, as well as the restoration of the Naglau hydroelectric station near the Afghan capital. The Afghan minister expressed interest in Russia's assistance in the exploration and development of mineral resources, construction of roads and especially in the implementation of energy projects in Afghanistan. He proposed compiling a list of Russian companies that could cooperate with his country.
During the negotiations, according to our newspaper, the Afghan side also confirmed its interest in receiving military-technical assistance (MTA) from Russia. As experts say, the difference between military-technical cooperation (military-technical cooperation) and military-technical cooperation is that the latter is carried out free of charge...
Rangin Dadfar Spanta conveyed to Sergei Lavrov a message from Afghan President Hamid Karzai sent to Dmitry Medvedev. It is unknown whether it contains an invitation to the new Russian president to visit Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai never received a visit from Vladimir Putin to Kabul, despite repeated invitations.