The results of the Afghanistan Conference: why do they not trust Russia?
On December 5, an international conference on Afghanistan was held in Bonn, during which Russian Foreign Minister S. Lavrov said that, despite support and investment, Russia is still rather wary of it. All the proposals that come from the Russian government, the Afghan authorities listen carefully, take all the help (and humanitarian aid as well), but make important strategic decisions bypassing the Russian state.
The minister also added that the Russian government is in favor of establishing the neutrality of Afghanistan after the end of the peacekeeping mission in the country. Recall that this idea was supported not only by the United States, but also by the SCO. Also, S. Lavrov noted that with the help of force, the situation in the Afghan state cannot be rectified, therefore, first of all, it is necessary to raise the economy.
And therefore, most of the initiatives that Moscow has been taking are specifically related to the economy of Afghanistan. The Russian government has announced readiness to invest 500 millions of dollars in the implementation of the CASA-1000 (energy complex) and TAPI projects (gas pipeline through Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India).
But with all the readiness of Russia to cooperate in the process of building hydroelectric power stations and infrastructure in the Afghan state, Western countries are still suspicious of it. For the most part, the fact is that the United States considers Afghanistan to be its property in the future and therefore reluctantly let "alien" into its territory.
Russia’s proposals regarding the involvement of international organizations in Afghanistan in order to resolve the situation also cause such aversion. According to S. Lavrov, the West sees in the Russian Federation only a transit state, a provider of humanitarian aid and no more.
Nevertheless, this assistance is quite noticeable. Only during the first post-war stage, the expenses of the Russian state amounted to about 12 million dollars. Essential goods were delivered: grain, tents, flour, medicines, sugar, and work was done to restore the Salang tunnel. At the same time, an emergency vehicle squad was deployed in Tajikistan to respond quickly.
At the second stage, the main emphasis was placed on the air corridor, for this purpose a joint air transport company was established. Since 2002, a hospital of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia has begun work in Kabul. The total costs for the second period of humanitarian aid amounted to about 17 million dollars.
On the eve of the conference in the New York Times, an article appeared in which American experts said that the US should begin more active cooperation with the Russian Federation, instead of relying only on Pakistan. They also noted that Russia is becoming an increasingly important player in the transit of military goods.
It’s premature to say that at least some prospects are outlined, but it should be noted that representatives of 17 international organizations and 88 countries took part in the Conference (among which there were about 60 foreign ministers).
Also for the first time in stories international conferences on Afghanistan were attended by N. Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the CSTO. The SCO Secretary General, M. Imanaliev, was also invited.
Indisputable is the fact that in order to resolve the Afghan problem it is necessary to attract new political players, new states with an unblemished reputation. However, the chances of convincing the official Washington are equal to zero. On the eve of the conference, representatives of the United States declared the possibility of preserving American bases on the territory of Afghanistan, which caused dissatisfaction with Russia, which considers such actions illegal and unjustified.
However, the results of the conference are not encouraging. Although the participants advocated a peaceful dialogue with political opponents, solving problems with corruption and drug trafficking, no major decisions were made. As usual, at annual meetings of this kind, the Afghan government was severely criticized, and the initiative proposals of the representatives of the Russian Federation on the need to involve representatives of the CSTO and the SCO in resolving the Afghan conflict did not even get into the final documents of the conference.
.
Information