Russia to reject US presence in Afghanistan post UNSC mandate expiry

[nrj]

Moscow, Oct 8 (ANI): Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin has said that his country will not agree to US military presence in Afghanistan after the expiration of the UN Security Council mandate.


Rogozin said that the United States is pursuing the same tactic in both Afghanistan and Libya by offering training for the armed forces of those countries upto NATO standards.


"This is only a pretext for preserving their military presence in those counties," The Nation quoted him, as saying.


"This is something we have never agreed with. Afghanistan should be free from foreign interference in its internal affairs, and therefore the coalition forces should only perform the duties mandated by the UN Security Council in 2001," Rogozin added.


Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin also said yesterday that Moscow will insist on scaling down the US military presence in Central Asia after its counter-terrorism operation is completed in Afghanistan.


"The point is that when the counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan is over, when American armed forces leave this country, and the need to send supplies to them becomes irrelevant, we will insist that the American military presence in Afghanistan and Central Asia must be scaled down," Borodavkin told a meeting of the Russian State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament.

TruthDive

 

[pmaitra]

The US cannot afford to stay in Afghanistan much longer anyway. While they might want to maintain some presence, I am sure they want to withdraw as quickly as possible. I wonder why Russia is uncomfortable. US presence there also serves Russia's interests.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

putin is coming back as president, start expecting all the crazy stuff from russia yet again!

 

[agentperry]

USA will withdraw from afghanistan no matter what situation prevails in south asia. its now better to concentrate to get a pro-Indian afghanistan in afghanistan. there is a need for international consortium so that afghanistan can be protected from the clutches of a single nation autocracy(read isi backed taliban). there is an urgent need to eliminate the isi agents from afghanistan with all there proxies.
taliban has already proved there commitment for nation building after soviet defeat so northern alliance people should be the stake holder in all top slots of national polity and defence.
im eager to know why the hell rusia even after losing its body soul and respect so eager to re-engage into this nation.
this nation is a big honey trap since czar era.

can anybody shed light on the importance of afghanistan as a nation since time of great game.

 

[Yusuf]

Russia cannot just rely on it's military might alone esp it's nukes to keep itself relevant. It has to progress economically and come up with latest tech too as in soviet days. Without that it's all bark and no bite. Russia has to learn to integrate with the rest.

 

[asianobserve]

The US will not totally pull out from Afghanistan. The strategic value of the territory overcomes all other considerations. The impetus for sizable troop withdrawal is not foreign pressure it's domestic political considerations. Russia in the end will fall in line with Washington's wishes, albeit, silently...

 

[SpArK]

Why dont NATO invite Russia to the party or Russia join the party at their old club , Afghanistan..

We would love it.

 

[asianobserve]

Direct Russian military presence in Afghanistan will be very sensitive politically. The wounds from the Soviet invasion is still fresh for the Afghans. Anyway, Russia is already pitching in for NATO in Afghanistan. It is providing transit for a large part of NATO supplies. NATO on the other hand are buying equipments from Russia for the Afghan military. So this talk about the need for US/NATO to leave Afghanistan is cheap talk.

 

[Adux]

This might impact the central asian route?

 

[nrj]

Russia is making its stand clear. If there has to be allied forces in astan post 2014, then there will be another UNSC consultation. US does not have same loud voice within UNSC compared to same in 2001.

There will be couple of new players onboard if new resolution centering astan is to be passed in UNSC. Coming few months are crucial. I think early 2012 should make US plans clear to all. For now situation is little confusing. Everybody is playing their cards to add weight in their bid before another round table meet.

 

[Tshering22]

So in short, something must be done about Pakistan before 2014 mandate expires. Because Afghanistan is long free from Jihad; Pakistan continues festering it for its "strategic goals". Here's what I see:

Russia has a few obligations if this happens:

- Step up military presence in Af-pak.
- Start taking US place and do something about Talibunnies
- Force USA out and risk undoing all the 10 years of hard work.
- Fight Jihad with inhuman force (like Chechnya bombing) and invite a head-on war with Pakistan to finish the entire virus of Jihad.

US has the following alternatives:

- Increase drone attacks tenfold and start targeting deeper into Pakistani territory.
- Do something about the CAR route so that there is no consequences in case things get nasty with Pakistan.
- Start getting their plan of Pakistani nukes into action.
- Start looking for alternative ruling puppets as Zardari is unheard of now, Gilani's sucking up to China, Kayani is comfortable with Gilani.


The end result has to be sorted out in Pakistan as the real danger comes from there. Afghanistan became reasonable after the major operations carried out in early 2010. After that, terrorist HQ shifted to Pakistan.

 

[Yusuf]

Russia should not even bother to interfere jn Astan for the moment. It helps them that the US is in Astan. A US withdrawal without pinning the Taliba means victory to them and that is bad news for Russia and India. Chechnya will boil up again using recruits from the "victors" in Astan.

The world has to be more supportive of the US then ever before. We cannot let the AfPak region be left to the Talibs.

 

[asianobserve]

Russia should not and cannot interfere in Afghanistan now and in the foreseeable future. It'll only invite more trouble to itself. Actually, it benefits everybody, save Paki, Iran and China that US is in Afghanistan. All these "critial" of US presence there are merely posturing. No other country at the moment other than the US can effectively do what the US is doing there now. Yusuf is right, as soon as US completely leave that place the sooner it will become the international center for terror manufacture. If this happens again the US won't even be the most affected, it is India that will be at the sorry end of Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISI axis based in Afghanistan. Indians of all people should be supportive of the US in AfPak.

 

[Tshering22]

^^ We are. Even Putin before leaving president post, said that US presence is vital. I think this is just a political potshot.

 

[sob]

Russians are just trying to get even with the US. They still have not forgotten how they had to withdraw in a hurry from Afghanistan, in part aided by the US led Nato. They are now enjoying watching the US in the same situation.