Fighting terrorism together
Published: 30 July, 2009, 20:49
Edited: 04 January, 2010, 13:43
TAGS: Meeting, Asia, Politics, Terrorism, Drugs
“A symbol of trust” – that is what Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dubbed his meeting with the leaders of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan during a visit to the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
Fighting terrorism in Afghanistan was the main focus of the Thursday summit of the four presidents.
The leaders of Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan first met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation earlier this year in Russia’s Ekaterinburg to discuss terrorism. This was where they also agreed to again meet to continue their talks on the issue.
At the present summit, the presidents did not say much about what they were discussing but did mention that the talks were productive and they would continue meeting in the future.
Also, the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, thanked the other presidents on behalf of his people for their efforts in providing peace in Afghanistan.
Russia’s part
Russia’s involvement in the region, including fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, is becoming more intense. President Medvedev and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, signed an agreement in Moscow in July that opens Russian air space to US military cargo on its way to Afghanistan.
Despite alternative routes being available, such as through Pakistan and other countries, Obama was reportedly keen, for safety reasons, to sign the deal with Moscow.
Russia also supports NATO’s aim to defeat militants in Afghanistan, which is why Moscow agreed to sign the deal with the USA. Both Russia and the US understand though that Al-Qaeda often hits NATO’s allies, who are much closer to Afghanistan’s territory. Nonetheless, the Russian president chose to sign the agreement, giving Moscow an even larger role in fighting terrorism in the region.
Drug trafficking
Drug trafficking from Afghanistan is another problem that is a major concern for Russia. The income from this illegal industry is primarily used for financing terrorists. This is another reason why Russia wants to be more deeply involved in solving the problem.
If the current format of co-operation between Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan proves to be efficient, Russia is expected to increase its efforts in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking in the region.
Russian military base in Tajikistan
Russia is also ready to discuss its military presence in Tajikistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. According to media reports, Tajikistan could raise the issue of seeking payments from Moscow in exchange for it keeping its military base in the country.One of the apparent purposes for Russia’s largest foreign ground base is to help maintain peace in the region and support its Tajik partners on the border with Afghanistan.
"We are partners, and if one of the partners wants to discuss something, we are ready. We will discuss this issue when it is raised with us," Lavrov told Russian journalists in Dushanbe on Thursday, according to Interfax.
Dmitry Medvedev and his Tajik counterpart have ordered their Defense and Foreign ministers to discuss the terms for Russia’s continuing presence in the country.
Russia’s Defense Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, is accompanying President Medvedev during his visit to Tajikistan.
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I really dont think anyone knows where this road is going to take us. A fight against terrorism, is a fight Russia is involved in on a daily basis. It needs to do it, so I reckon that's logically why we are engaging more, so the big issue is what about the approach, what about the timing. Well we do see a different approach, we see the word trust, and we see the regionality of the 'coalition'. There must be some plan we have, so what is it, is it the local approach, try to talk the same language to the less militant goups, whilst at the same time trying to bring some improvement and wealth to Afghanistan. Is it the Chechnya model of fight hard, build diplomatic bridges and raise the living standards of the people. What about timing and outside players, are we going in too early, too late, just about right. Well the war isn't possible to win militarily, and we are good pragmatic negotiators, and it is dragging on a bit, and most people do want to live in peace, so maybe the timing isn't so bad. But what about outside players like NATO and the US. I am sure we would want to keep them suffereing as much as possible, so how do we do this. maybe we will go for a slow process, one of us being the carrot and the US and NATO the stick. This would keep them suffereing, whilst developing our standing, so could be a good approach. We could probaly be happy trading off less western suffering, for more regional influence. But who knows the real plan! As long as we can somehow reduce terrorism around the world, I am happy.
The only way to solve the problem of narcotics trafficking and the related criminal/terrorist activity, is to work regionally. Only countries of the region know how the drugs are produced, processed, and transported accross the region. And only these countries know for sure, what happens to the money earned by drug traficking. It is sometimes comical to hear the discussions between Russia and Tajikistan about a military base. As if Russia and Tajikistan are not already allies in CSTO and SCO. CSTO alone should have intensified joint efforts to shore up the vulnerable Central Asian countries against the traffickers whose money corrupts politicians and buys the loyalty of militants of every stripe, along with the abundance of arms. CSTO seems to be late in coming with a clear voice. And a clear concerns. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgizstan should love their children a bit more, and love the peace a bit more. For if they do not act in unisone, they will pay heavy toll in thousands upon thousands of youth being radicalized Pakistani style, and will share the fate of Afghanistan. What seems to be the real curse, is the tendency of some elites in the area to try to sit on as many chairs as they can. They are LOOSING OUT OF SIGHT what will happen to their countries, as they play these games. Russia has done the best it can. It has provided US with all the support it needs, and those that are banking on bad US/Russia relationships to promote their own interests, cannot win. When they cannot be even a fair weather friends, what will happen in real crisis? It is good to see the regional gathering. The concern that I feel is that Uzbekistan is not doing enough to protect the future of its population, especially youth. Tajikistan cannot alone be on the front-line, while other Afghanistan's neighbours close eyes to the drug traffickers.