By Ulviye Filiyeva ERKEC
A critical situation has developed in Afghanistan. On 15th of August 2021, members of the Taliban Movement captured Kabul and other major cities, almost without any resistance.
Following this development the Regnum news website began to use only the phrase “organization” in its news about the Taliban Movement, instead of the traditional “terrorist organization’ diction. It is important to note that the activities of Taliban are prohibited in the Russian Federation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, had a conversation over the telephone, with Shavkat Mirziyoyev –the President of Uzbekistan– about the situation in Afghanistan. During the discourse, it was decided to intensify the interaction between the relevant ministries and departments of Russia and Uzbekistan.
What they are saying: On August 15, the Russian President’s Private Envoy for Afghanistan and the second Director of the Asian Section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zamir Kabulov, told RIA Novosti:
“Russia is ready to work with the transitional government, but there is no meeting regarding recognizing the Taliban as the country’s legitimate authorities. We haven’t recognized yet, but there’s a time for everything, let’s wait and see.”
– Zamir Kabulov, Russian President’s Private Envoy for Afghanistan and the second Director of the Asian Section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Background: On August 16, Kabulov spoke to Echo Moscow stating that Moscow has a backup action plan for Afghanistan, “We always have a plan B in mind, but we are never in a rush to run from pillar to post. To use your terminology, we are currently operating according to plan A. Russia, like other partner states, did not expect events to develop so quickly in the republic, although it predicted that the Taliban would play a leading role there.” The diplomat added that the responsibility of the events largely belongs to Washington.
Flashback: On August 15, 2021, former President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani had to resign. It is claimed that he fled to Uzbekistan, taking a break in Tajikistan. Thousands of people are trying to leave the country with available flights while Western states are working hard to evacuate their diplomats. Former President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, previously said that he left Afghanistan to prevent bloodshed.
Tajikistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied the news claiming that Ghani, who fled the country, was in Tajik territory.
On August 16, the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “The plane, Ashraf Ghani was in, did not enter the airspace of Tajikistan and did not land on the territory of the republic.” It is also stated that Dushanbe has not received such a request from Afghanistan.
How they interpreted: In the article titled “Shock and Fear: The World Saw in Afghanistan that What Could Happen to It” published in Ria Novosti, author Irina Alksnis, articulated that;
“The scale and pace of events are so great that although such an outcome was previously public, what happened today has caused shock, anxiety, and fear. The noise of events is so loud that the toxic and odious comments about the United States of America, which has suffered a major and embarrassing failure in front of the entire world, are almost inaudible. Despite the Taliban’s promises not to suppress those who served the previous government and their statements to soften the place of women in society, there is no doubt that Afghanistan will face retaliation and executions. The fate of Afghan women also remains uncertain.”
– Irina Alksnis
Referring to the exit of the USSR from Afghanistan, Alksnis underlined that, “Compared to the presence of the USSR’s Afghanistan and how it ended thirty years ago, the speed and brutality of the current development, is of particular importance. There was a superpower dominating half of the world, and a few months later it was replaced by new state formations that were in chaos and often drenched in blood.”
What did it show: Russian Senator Aleksey Pushkov wrote on his Telegram channel that the situation in Afghanistan is a revenge of history, religion, and ideology on modernity and globalisation.
Pushkov also stated that,
“This is not an evaluation, but an expression of an objective fact. However, the dramatic, not catastrophic, development of events in Afghanistan for the United States and the “liberal world order” demonstrates how narrow-minded the authors and proponents of the Western concept of “end of history” are, who also declares the inevitable victory of liberal capitalism. The problem is not the mistakes made by some USA presidents, but a much deeper process like the irreversible erosion of America’s ability to fulfil its hegemonic role.”
Aleksey Psukov, Russian Senator