"Create a problem and look for those responsible": why the EU called for uniting efforts to resolve Afghanistan

A settlement in Afghanistan must be supported by the countries of the region and the international community.

This was stated by the President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell at the international conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectedness.

Challenges and Opportunities ”in Tashkent.

“We call on the countries of the region and the international community as a whole to play a constructive role in supporting the peace process in Afghanistan,” said the head of European diplomacy.

He also stressed that if the situation in the country is not stabilized, it will negatively affect the neighboring states.

"If Afghanistan plunges into chaos, it will open the entire region for drug trafficking, the spread of radical ideologies and terrorism," Borrel quoted TASS as saying.

• Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell

• Reuters

• © Francois Walschaerts

Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, gave her assessment of the statement by the President of the European Parliament.

She pointed out that such calls have already become traditional for US allies.

“In the best traditions: first create a problem, and then look for those responsible and appeal to collective efforts,” the diplomat wrote on Telegram.

Zakharova recalled that the situation in Iraq and Libya developed according to the same scenario, and now the United States and its allies "treacherously abandoned" Afghanistan.

At the same time, as the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized, neighboring countries have had to take on themselves "the blow of the consequences of the unprofessionalism of the collective West" for many years.

Thus, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed concern about a possible increase in the number of Afghan refugees.

According to him, the country simply does not have economic opportunities to accommodate them.

“There are already three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.

We are afraid of a new influx of them into our country ”, - quoted by Khan TASS.

• Afghan refugees in Pakistan

• AFP

• © Arif Ali

At the same time, the Afghan authorities claim that Islamabad itself supports the Taliban.

So, according to the vice-president of the republic, Amrullah Saleh, the Afghan military allegedly received a warning from the Pakistani Air Force that they intend to repel attacks by government forces on Taliban positions in the Spin Boldak settlement in Kandahar.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry firmly rejected these accusations.

“We respect the right of the Afghan government to take action on its territory.

However, contrary to the claims of the Afghan Vice President, the Pakistan Air Force did not report anything to the Afghan Air Force.

Such allegations undermine Pakistan's sincere efforts to play its part in (implementing -

RT

) a decision that belongs to Afghans and is being implemented under their leadership, ”a ministry spokesman said on Facebook.

A simplified view of the world

Analysts believe that everything that is happening now in Afghanistan was the result of the ill-considered policy of the United States and its allies. According to Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, the United States has been trying for 20 years to make the Afghan people not only forget about independence, but also adopt American customs. At the same time, the expert noted, the Americans "did not take into account either the interests, or the specifics of culture, or the confessional characteristics of the population of Afghanistan."

“In Washington, in all its foreign policy adventures, they proceed from a simplified view of a world in which the United States and its allies are good, and the rest of the world is bad.

The United States always proceeds from the universalist position that there is supposedly a set of democratic values ​​that only they know best about.

Therefore, in their opinion, it is better for all other peoples to unquestioningly accept these values ​​and try to reproduce American culture and political system by imitation, "Shapovalov explained in an interview with RT.

Dmitry Danilov, head of the European Security Department of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor at MGIMO, agrees with his point of view.

In an interview with RT, he stressed that attempts to implement the American course in the republic led to such sad consequences.

“Euro-Atlantic policy in Afghanistan is largely tied to US policy.

Therefore, when it comes to success or failure, it is necessary to consider American politics.

This course was unsuccessful, and now, in fact, we are talking about the forced withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, ”Danilov said.

In this regard, experts regard Josep Borrell's calls as an attempt to share responsibility for what is happening with the world community.

“Considering that the result of their (US and NATO. -

RT

) activities was that the country was plunging into a civil war, and there is a high degree of probability that the zone of armed conflict could spread to nearby countries.

Therefore, Borrell's statement should be viewed as an attempt to shift responsibility for what happened to the countries of the region, which have nothing to do with the occupation and attempts to "democratize" Afghanistan, "Vladimir Shapovalov said.

Recall that the situation in the republic aggravated after the announcement of US President Joe Biden about the completion of the 20-year American operation Enduring Freedom and the withdrawal of troops from the country.

At the same time, Washington began to take out its military quite quickly.

So, by July 13, 95% of American troops had already left the territory. 

As soon as the US military began to leave the republic, the Taliban * became more active in the country.

At the moment, according to the leaders of the movement, they control 85% of Afghan territory, including areas along the borders of Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and China.

"Degradation of the situation"

The aggravation of the situation in the country due to the rapid withdrawal of US and NATO troops was noted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Unfortunately, in recent days we have witnessed a rapid degradation of the situation in Afghanistan.

In light of the hasty withdrawal of the US and NATO contingents, the uncertainty of the development of the military-political situation in and around this country has sharply increased, ”Lavrov said at a plenary session of the conference in Tashkent.

According to him, the crisis in the republic has exacerbated the problem of illegal drug trafficking and the terrorist threat.

Against this background, the Russian Foreign Minister noted, there is a risk of "overflow of instability to neighboring states."

In his opinion, the situation can be improved only by starting direct inter-Afghan negotiations with the help of international partners.

In this regard, as Lavrov said, the possibility of involving a number of other influential external players in the settlement is being discussed.

Experts suggest that India and Iran may be among them.

“After the United States and its allies fled Afghanistan, in some cases abandoning their equipment and bases, the Russian Federation, China, India, Iran and other countries that are in this region and are interested in peace and prosperity there, we will have to participate in the process of resolving the situation, ”summed up Vladimir Shapovalov.

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