The first step needed to help Afghanistan today, is to unfreeze its assets before its people are plunged into famine, with grave consequences for the entire region, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the conclusion of his Dec. 23 end-of-the-year press conference, when asked if Russia recognizes the Taliban government and what the outlook is for Russian-Afghan relations.
“I would like the relations between Russia and Afghanistan to develop in the best possible way,” Putin responded. “I am referring to our mutual interests in stabilizing the region. For us, this is not idle talk, since we have open borders with the Central Asian republics … and naturally, the possibility of extremist infiltration raises understandable concerns. Among other things, there is the continuing flow of drugs from Afghanistan; some 90% of the opiates on the global market are Afghan-made. This is another alarming factor, of course.
“As for recognizing it, generally, we need to proceed from reality, assuming that the forces that now lead Afghanistan are setting their minds on having all ethnic groups represented in the country’s government. I think this is the only alternative that can, hopefully, pave the way for stabilization in Afghanistan.
