Russia is interested in getting Afghanistan out of the incessant civil war, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Thursday at a meeting of the Valdai international club.
"Without a doubt, Russia's interests are for Afghanistan to finally come out of the incessant permanent civil war. So that the people of this long-suffering country, without exaggeration, feel secure in their national borders and have a chance to develop and prosper. We will strive by all means to achieve this goal," said Putin.
The president expressed an opinion that Pakistan's role and significance in this situation are no less than that of Russia or China. "We are interested in developing cooperation <...> in order to achieve the common result we are looking for," the president said.
Compromises within society
According to Putin, Russia is interested in finding acceptable compromises within Afghan society, including women's rights.
"We are in contact with all political forces in Afghanistan, and we have fairly stable relations with all of them. But we would like to find acceptable compromises so that the issues facing the country would not be solved only by using weapons, as has happened recently, and that women's interests would be taken into account," Putin said.
The head of state reminded that the Taliban (a movement banned in the Russian Federation) is composed mainly of Pashtuns, but Tajiks make up a significant proportion - up to 47% according to some estimates - of the population of Afghanistan. "Look, that's a lot, isn't it? Then there are Uzbeks, Hazaras, and so on," Putin noted. - "Yes, I know, even in the leadership [of the Taliban] now, in the government, there are representatives of these groups, but not in the first roles. But they aspire to occupy a significant place in the system of governing the country. And that balance has to be found".
The Russian Federation sees the Taliban as trying to fight extreme radicals and terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (an international terrorist organization banned in Russia), the president added. "Yes, they were fellow travelers, we understand that, we proceed from realities, momentary fellow travelers, now they are attacking the Taliban themselves," Putin said.
US and European responsibility
According to the president, the US and Europe should not absolve themselves of responsibility for what is happening in Afghanistan, but nothing should be imposed on the Afghan people.
"I think he (the US president - TASS) did the right thing when he made the decision to withdraw troops [from Afghanistan], but now, of course, we all need to look to the future," the Russian leader noted. - "But since, as you said, they made this mess, they should not shrug off responsibility for the current events and the future. <...> The instruments to influence the situation in Afghanistan are very numerous, above all [there are] financial instruments, including those of Europe. <...> They are also responsible for what happened there," Putin said, answering a related question.
The Russian president stressed that everyone should "get involved" and help the Afghan people. "We must proceed from the fact that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past, we cannot impose on the Afghan people what the Soviet Union tried to impose. You cannot impose on the Afghan people what the United States tried to impose," Putin concluded.
After the announcement by the US in the spring of the decision to withdraw its armed forces from the country, the Taliban launched a large-scale operation to take control of Afghanistan. On August 15, the Taliban entered Kabul without any fighting, and the president of the Islamic republic, Ashraf Ghani, left the country. On September 6, the Taliban declared that they took control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, and on September 7, they announced the composition of the provisional government, which consisted exclusively of members of the radical movement and predominantly Pashtuns. In response, many countries stated that such a cabinet was not inclusive, calling on the Taliban to include ethno-religious minorities and women.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS