The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the United States is violating the terms for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, fixed in the agreement with the Taliban.

The corresponding statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“The announced US intention to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by September 11 this year is an obvious violation of the US-Taliban agreement signed on February 29, 2020 and providing for the complete withdrawal of US troops by May 1 of this year.

In this regard, the possible escalation of the armed conflict in Afghanistan in the near future causes concern, which, in turn, is fraught with undermining efforts to start direct inter-Afghan negotiations, ”Zakharova said.

On April 13, the situation in Afghanistan became one of the topics of the telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.

True, neither the Kremlin nor the White House reported the details of the conversation about the state of affairs in the republic. 

"For tactical reasons"

Recall that at the end of February last year, at negotiations in the capital of Qatar, where the Taliban branch is located, the US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and the political leader of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed an agreement providing for the reduction of the American contingent from 12 thousand to 8.6 thousand a person within 135 days and the withdrawal of all formations of NATO member states within 14 months.

Thus, the parties agreed that by May 1, 2021, the United States must ensure the complete redeployment of the remaining units of its own army and the armed forces of allied states from Afghanistan.

At the same time, the Taliban pledged not to attack foreign military personnel, and to fight al-Qaeda ** and other terrorist groups. 

The US authorities have repeatedly accused the Taliban of violating the ceasefire, but the leaders of the movement explain their armed actions as forced measures in response to the strikes of American troops.

As Omar Nessar, a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan (TsISA), explained in an interview with RT, the Taliban benefited greatly from the signing of the Doha Agreement.

“They forced the Americans to withdraw the largest number of their troops.

The number of the US military has reached the minimum level for the entire period of their stay on the territory of Afghanistan.

The final withdrawal of foreign troops is in their interests, ”Nessar stressed.

On April 13, Mohammad Naim Wardak, a spokesman for the Taliban's Qatari political office, said the movement's leaders would not sit down at the negotiating table until the complete redeployment of foreign forces was completed.

"Until all foreign forces leave our native land, the Islamic Emirate (" Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan "- as the Taliban call the territory under their control. -

RT

) will not take part in any conference that provides for the adoption of decisions on Afghanistan," wrote on Twitter Mohammad Naim Wardak.

On April 24, a conference on the peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan is to start in Istanbul.

As noted in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the main goal of the negotiations, which should last until May 4, is to accelerate the intra-Afghan dialogue.

  • Taliban in Afghanistan

  • AFP

  • © NOORULLAH SHIRZADA

According to experts, such a sharp reaction of the Taliban was caused by the recent statement of the White House to postpone the date of the final withdrawal of troops from May 1 to September 11, 2021 - the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, after which the US Armed Forces launched a military operation in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda.

“We will coordinate actions with allies and NATO partners regarding the withdrawal of their troops in the same time frame: beginning before May 1, ending before the 20th anniversary of September 11th.

We also made it clear to the Taliban that any attacks on US troops during our safe and orderly withdrawal will be met with a strong rebuff, ”senior administration official Joe Biden told reporters.

The White House explained a significant shift in the deadline by the course of revising the international agreements signed by the previous administration, as well as by Biden's desire to prevent a hasty and poorly coordinated redeployment, which could endanger the safety of American troops and their allies.

In addition, Washington has expressed its intention to closely monitor terrorist activity in Afghanistan.

The question of postponing the final date for the withdrawal of the US Armed Forces from Afghanistan has been raised by Washington more than once.

On March 25, at the first public press conference, Joe Biden announced that the United States would not be able to meet the terms of the redeployment of the contingent, fixed in the agreements with the Taliban.

According to him, the United States "will be difficult" to meet "by May 1," just for tactical reasons. "

At the end of March, the head of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, expressed a similar point of view.

Following consultations with the President's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he said that the Pentagon does not have the resources to wind down the military presence within the timeframe agreed with the Taliban.

At the same time, the high-ranking congressman noted that the Taliban are unlikely to agree to postpone the deadline for the withdrawal of troops.

“I think everyone understands that from the point of view of logistics, May 1 is too soon.

We have ... about 3.5 thousand troops in Afghanistan.

Our allies have about 7 thousand. It is impossible to withdraw more than 10 thousand soldiers in just six weeks, "Smith was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Meanwhile, on April 12, in an interview with The Washington Post, Chief of Staff of the US Army, General James McConville, said that army commanders in Afghanistan have plans to redeploy troops on a tight schedule.

In an interview with RT, Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, noted that the United States deliberately refused to fulfill its obligations.

The expert also drew attention to the fact that the United States decided to postpone the deadline for the withdrawal of the armed forces without prior consultations with the Taliban.

“The United States disavowed its own agreements, and unilaterally, without prior consultations (with the Taliban. -

RT

).

If the Americans have an objective circumstance that does not allow them to fulfill their obligations, then it should have been brought up for discussion, an attempt should have been made to find solutions to the problem within the framework of diplomatic communication.

In the case of the United States, this was not done, ”stated Danyuk. 

"Leave, but stay"

According to the newspaper The Times, the United States' approach to the new deadline for the withdrawal of the contingent is shared by the British leadership.

As the newspaper notes, there are currently 750 United Kingdom soldiers and 2.5 thousand United States troops in Afghanistan.

London explains the refusal to fulfill the agreement concluded in Doha on the final date for the withdrawal of troops by the fact that in their activities British units are tied to the American military infrastructure.

An ambiguous situation has developed around the redeployment of German formations.

The Bundeswehr has promised to withdraw its troops, but until January 2022.

Moreover, if they are not withdrawn by April 30, additional ammunition and weapons will be sent to the servicemen due to concerns about their safety.

  • Coalition troops in Afghanistan

  • Reuters

  • © Shamil Zhumatov / Files

Moreover, as German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced in early April, additional weapons and ammunition will be transferred to Afghanistan.

According to Omar Nessar, despite the promises of Washington, one should not expect a complete curtailment of the foreign military presence in Afghanistan.

According to the expert, the impeccable fulfillment of the terms of the Doha Agreement is contrary to US interests in the region.

“Washington is thinking about leaving, but staying anyway.

Nominally, the United States should withdraw another 2,500 people, but the American military is in Afghanistan, so to speak, in different formats.

I mean PMCs, which actually perform the functions of the army.

As far as I understand, the number of fighters from the US private military companies has not decreased.

The Americans will find an option to preserve their military presence in one way or another, ”Nessar said.

Nikita Danyuk also believes that the United States is looking for a way to continue to exploit the fairly developed military infrastructure created over its almost two decades of stay in Afghanistan.

“It is obvious that the Americans are in many ways delaying the withdrawal of the contingent, because they are afraid of losing an important lever of military and political influence.

It is possible that with the withdrawal of troops, Afghanistan will very quickly change its geopolitical orientation.

In general, the situation with the withdrawal of troops is a serious image blow to the United States, although the world community is accustomed to the fact that American soldiers, as a rule, do not completely leave, "Danyuk noted.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.

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"Al-Qaeda" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.