Russia has its head again in Afghanistan

Hamidullah Mohammed Shah-Kabul

Taliban and Afghan politicians met Tuesday in Moscow to mark the centenary of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Kabul for talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan. At this meeting, a new face emerged: Abdul Ghani Barader, one of the founders of the Taliban movement and head of the movement's political bureau, who spoke publicly for the first time about the need for a peace agreement.

Mullah Pradar was the first victim of the peace talks when he was arrested by US and Pakistani intelligence in the Pakistani city of Karachi in February 2010. The Afghan government tried to release him, but its efforts failed. He was recently released at the request of the US government, because US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad believes that Mullah Pradar could play a positive role in the negotiations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the first foreign official to sit at the same table in front of the cameras with Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader at a meeting attended by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a number of rivals of current Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. Lavrov called on the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. In order to reach a political solution to end the war, while Mullah Pradar considered the presence of US forces a major obstacle to peace talks in Afghanistan.

Observers attributed the meeting to the slow pace of negotiations between the Taliban and the US envoy to Afghanistan because of the Taliban's refusal to cease fire and start talks with the Afghan government.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban delegation led by Mullah Barader held closed meetings with senior Russian officials, without giving further details. The meeting was the second of its kind between the Taliban and the Afghans on the sidelines of a ceremony overseen by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Kabul and Moscow.

Russia has stepped up diplomatic engagement in pushing for a peaceful settlement of the Afghan war, using its growing influence and contacts with the Taliban. Russia, the United States and China announced at a meeting last month that the three countries had reached consensus on a framework for a US-brokered peace deal with the Taliban.

Historical background of the relationship
After the independence of Afghanistan from the British in 1919, the Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the independence of Afghanistan. Prince Amanullah Khan sent several delegations to Russia to secure the support of the Soviet Union against the British. In February of that year, the Prince sent his foreign minister, , And thus began diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On December 27, 1979, Russian troops invaded Afghanistan, and 700 soldiers, including 54 KGB Special Forces agents, dressed in uniformed Afghan uniforms occupied the government, military and radio buildings in the capital Kabul, including their main target, the Taj Peck Presidential Palace, From the President, may God protect him.

Russia's return to the Afghan scene
The Russian authorities neglected the Afghan issue for three decades after its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. After Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked his army in Syria and was sure of playing a key role in the Middle East, he decided to restore the political role and influence in Afghanistan.

The Russian authorities began to communicate with the Taliban political bureau in Doha in 2013, and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan played an active role in strengthening relations between Russia and the Taliban.

"The Taliban values ​​its relationship with Russia and China and its representatives have visited European countries, but the media highlights the countries that compete with the United States in a number of files, and the Taliban has made great progress in building political relations with others," said political writer and analyst Waheed Majida.

"The celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Kabul and Moscow was just a facade of meeting between Mullah Abdul Ghani Pradar and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, because the latter had been in contact with Mullah Baradar and had not met him so far. He asked the Russian authorities to arrange the meeting To discuss the issue of reconciliation in Afghanistan. "

The importance of the Taliban to Moscow
After the fall of the Taliban government after September 11, 2001, Russia was in complete harmony with the policy of Washington in Afghanistan, and continued to 2014, and when the security tension reached the northern regions of Afghanistan and reports of the presence of the Islamic State Organization Khorasan branch in Afghanistan. The Russian leadership questioned the presence of US forces in Afghanistan, and the competition between Washington and Moscow began in the Afghan file.

"Russia supported the US position in Afghanistan and demanded that former Afghan president Hamid Karzai sign a security agreement with Washington. When the tension reached the northern border of Russia, Russia began to communicate with the Taliban because it could stand up to the fighters of the state organization," says Kabul University academic Assadullah Vahidi. Islamic. "

Therefore, Russia has opened channels of communication with different shades of Afghan society and has established strong relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who believes that Russia can rebalance the region.

"Russia wants the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, so it is trying to bring peace to Afghanistan, because it does not trust American plans, but believes that it is threatening its interests. It is trying to have influence after reconciliation with the Taliban," Vahidi said.

Russia has relied on soft power in Afghanistan, where it began offering free scholarships. Since 2017, the Russian Embassy has opened the Russian Cultural Center for Russian Language and Art Education. According to official figures, the number of people learning Russian in all parts of the country is 6,500, Russian Universities.