Afghanistan: Putin hopes the Taliban will become "civilized"
Leaders of the Taliban movement march to attend a press conference in Moscow on July 9, 2021. AFP - DIMITAR DILKOFF
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
While the announcement of the first Taliban government is expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he hoped the Taliban would behave in a "
civilized
" manner so as to be able to build normal diplomatic relations with other countries.
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"
The sooner the
Taliban
enter the family of civilized peoples, the easier it will be to maintain contact, to communicate
" with them in order to "
influence them in one way or another, to ask [them] questions
" , Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
While
Afghanistan
hangs on the announcement of an "
inclusive
" government, according to the Taliban, the Russian president is sending a message.
He hopes that the behavior of the Taliban at the head of Afghanistan will help build normal diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
Since the start of the crisis which began following the withdrawals of Western troops, Russia has
maintained a pragmatic dialogue
with the Taliban authorities but has not yet recognized the Taliban regime.
The movement is also still considered a terrorist organization by Russia.
Terrorism and drug trafficking, Russia's fears
This consideration is a mistake, according to Goulam Mohammad, director of the Afghan Diaspora Center in Russia. “
The Taliban do not have to be put on a list of terrorist organizations because they have not carried out attacks outside of Afghanistan. They have not waged any war anywhere other than in the country, have never displayed a desire for the expansion of fundamentalism or other very negative trends that we have seen at work in other countries
”, he believes.
He even wants the country to go further: “
I hope that one day China, Russia and Turkey will recognize this government.
But we would also like all countries to do it.
I wouldn't want Afghanistan to be treated like an outcast.
And then without recognition, there is no humanitarian aid, and the country needs help.
"
The Russian authorities are above all worried about
the security of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia,
bordering Afghanistan, such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
They fear that there will emerge new jihadist groups inspired by or supported by the Taliban.
In addition, the Kremlin also wants to prevent a regional influx of refugees as well as a new surge in opium and heroin trafficking.
► To read also: Afghanistan: "We are really witnessing a redistribution of the cards"
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Russia
Afghanistan
Taliban
Vladimir Poutine