Russia is ready to use its military base in Tajikistan and other capabilities to ensure the security of its CSTO allies.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“We will do everything, including using the capabilities of our military base on the border of Tajikistan with Afghanistan, in order to prevent any aggressive encroachments against our allies,” the head of Russian diplomacy said.

Sergei Lavrov stressed that Moscow's commitments within the CSTO "remain in full force" and recalled that representatives of the organization's leadership visited the Tajik-Afghan border area, assessed the situation and would report to the CSTO permanent council.

The Russian Foreign Minister also noted that the situation in Afghanistan is rapidly degrading against the background of the withdrawal of the US and NATO armed forces from the country.

“We are closely following what is happening in Afghanistan, where the situation tends to deteriorate rapidly, including in the context of the hasty withdrawal of American and NATO troops,” Lavrov said.

According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the United States and NATO allies during their presence in Afghanistan have not achieved significant results in stabilizing this country.

Later, the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the CSTO Khasan Sultonov called for the organization to help Dushanbe to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border.

According to the Tajik side, the circumstances require "an adequate response within the CSTO, including the adoption of measures to strengthen the capacity to protect the southern borders."

“In this context, the need to ensure the implementation of the decision of the Collective Security Council of September 23, 2013“ On rendering assistance to the Republic of Tajikistan in strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border ”remains relevant.

Therefore, we would like to call on the member states of the organization to contribute to the full implementation of this document, ”Sultonov said.

American retreat

Recall that in Afghanistan there is a confrontation between the armed forces of the country's government and the militants of the radical Taliban movement.

It intensified against the backdrop of the decision of the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from this Central Asian country.

In early 2020, the Donald Trump administration in Doha signed a peace agreement with the Taliban.

It provided for the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban not to use the country's territory for actions that could threaten American security.

Under the terms of the agreement, US troops were to leave Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.

However, the Joe Biden administration that came to power pushed that deadline until September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, which were one of the reasons for the US invasion of Afghanistan.

In April, following the United States, NATO allies also made a decision to withdraw their forces from the country.

Recently, the United States has significantly accelerated the rate of withdrawal of its contingent from Afghanistan.

So, on June 30, CNN, citing government sources, reported that the final withdrawal of the US military was a matter of several days.

On July 2, media reported that the US military had left the largest US base in Afghanistan, Bagram, located 60 kilometers northwest of Kabul.

Later, the Associated Press, citing the Afghan military, reported that the Americans left Bagram in a hurry and under cover of night - turning off the lights and not warning the local security forces.

On July 6, US CENTCOM announced that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was 90% complete.

Border issue

Against the background of the hasty withdrawal of the United States and NATO from Afghanistan, the security situation in the country aggravated - Taliban militants took possession of significant territories in the countryside, after which they launched an offensive against the positions of government forces and large cities.

The Afghan TV channel TOLO News reported on July 4 that the Taliban captured nine districts in one day: Kofab, Argo, Kohistan, Zibak, Yavan and Baharak in Badakhshan (northeastern Afghanistan), Panjwai in Kandahar (southern direction), Zerok in Paktia (the city on the border with Pakistan) and Worsage in Takhar (a city in the north-east of the country, bordering Tajikistan).

  • Taliban

  • © REUTERS / Stringer

In addition, the Xinhua news agency on July 7, citing Governor Khesamuddin Shams, reported on fighting in the city of Kalayi Nau, the administrative center of the northwestern province of Badghis.

Suheil Shahin, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, said on July 7 that the movement controls 162 of Afghanistan's 398 districts.

The Taliban claim that most of the districts (more than twenty) were occupied by them in the Badakhshan province, including the Wakhan district, which has a common border with Tajikistan with a length of 910 km.

At the same time, there are reports of the retreat of Afghan government security forces to neighboring Tajikistan.

On July 3, the border troops of the State Committee for National Security of the country reported that they had let more than 300 Afghan soldiers cross the border, and on July 5, more than 1,000 military government forces retreating after the battle with the Taliban.

The massive Taliban offensive also led to increased tensions on the Afghan-Tajik border.

CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas announced this on July 3.

“In Afghanistan, in fact, the situation is getting worse.

I will not say that it is catastrophic, no, but the situation there, of course, raises serious concern.

There is a clear understanding of the need to provide assistance to Tajikistan precisely in ensuring the security of the Tajik-Afghan border, ”TASS quoted him as saying.

Zas also said that during his visit to the border section on the Panj River in April this year, he personally observed the firing positions of the Taliban on the Afghan side.

The CSTO Secretary General noted that the place he visited several months ago is now completely controlled by the militants.

According to him, Tajik border guards need help, and the CSTO records their shootings with the Taliban.

At the same time, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeran Khivad warned that escalation in the republic could lead to an increase in the number of refugees and forced and illegal migration.

Earlier, the Pakistani Interior Ministry said they did not plan to open borders for refugees from Afghanistan in the event of an influx.

We will remind, in connection with the deterioration of the situation on the Afghan-Tajik border, Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 5 held a telephone conversation with the head of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

The Kremlin said that the Russian leader "has confirmed his readiness to provide Tajikistan with the necessary support both bilaterally and within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization."

At the same time, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that Moscow is not negotiating with the government in Kabul on the issue of bringing troops into Afghanistan.

It should be noted that the base of the Russian Armed Forces in Tajikistan is the largest Russian military base outside the country.

Maintaining security

Russia has experience in solving border problems of the Central Asian republics, Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, recalled in a conversation with RT.

“Russia will be able to find ways to prevent a military conflict situation on the border territory.

In addition, we have not only forceful methods of resolving the issue.

This problem can be resolved with the involvement of diplomatic forces and members of both the CSTO and, possibly, the interested countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, ”the expert noted.

From a military point of view, Russia is already strengthening its air-missile defense there and is constantly conducting exercises, added Alexander Mikhailov.

“It's another matter that we would not very much like to involve the country in military clashes in the region, especially since our interest is still in preserving our own borders from the terrorist threat from Afghanistan,” the political scientist noted.

The current situation is a direct consequence of the intervention in Afghanistan by US and NATO forces, Mikhailov stressed.

“What is happening, which we talked about before, is not going to end well for the Americans.

They did not solve any problems of the people of Afghanistan.

The food problem, for example, was not resolved, and all substitution programs, attempts to grow rice instead of poppy, failed.

Yes, in fact, the Americans never stopped the Taliban from stockpiling weapons and the Afghan drug trafficking from flourishing - in fact, they took control of it.

Therefore, they left nothing behind - economic problems have not been resolved, there are only huge opium plantations and several decision-making centers at once, ”the analyst explained.

Alexander Mikhailov recalled that in Russia, at the state level, the United States has repeatedly warned against short-sighted actions in Afghanistan.

“When the US came there, they shuffled the maps, loaded the region with weapons and gave the drug mafia the opportunity to poison the world with cheap heroin.

Now, when they leave the country in such a chaotic state, I strongly doubt that the official authorities will be able to maintain control on the ground for a long time and stay in power, ”the expert noted.

  • Column of the 201st military base of Russia near the border of Tajikistan with Afghanistan

  • © mil.ru

HSE professor, chief researcher at MGIMO Andrei Kazantsev explained the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan by the low level of motivation and training of local law enforcement agencies, the loyalty of which was ensured by cash injections from Washington and the international coalition.

“The power structures of the Afghan government in Kabul are mercenary troops, which were supported by foreign money and were characterized by huge internal contradictions, primarily of an intra-ethnic nature.

This entire system was maintained at the expense of constant huge replenishment of external monetary resources, as well as military support from the United States and its NATO allies, "explained Andrei Kazantsev.

The morale and desire to fight the Taliban or international terrorists in the Afghan security forces have always been extremely low, the political scientist added.

“Now that the feeding factor has disappeared, low morale is taking its toll, and the soldiers scatter or surrender.

In this regard, it is now difficult to imagine whether the government will be able to cope with the situation, ”Kazantsev said.

At the same time, the analyst also believes that the Russian Federation has enough opportunities to provide the necessary support to Tajikistan.

"Considering that Russian bases are located in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and through the CSTO, various scenarios have been worked out to provide assistance in the event of threats on the Tajik-Afghan border, so far the available resources are sufficient to help Russia's allies in the CSTO," the interlocutor of RT concluded. ...

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