Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled that it is necessary to engage with the Taliban, in order to establish a fully stable and representational government in Afghanistan, based on homegrown values and not those imposed by the West.
The Russian President said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Afghanistan was still a work-in-progress, despite the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15. He also stressed that a stable Afghan democracy would have to be based on home-grown values and principles and not those imposed by the West.
Asked about the US military conduct in Afghanistan, including the pullout from Kabul, Putin said: "As for the operation in Afghanistan, naturally, it cannot be called successful."
But without gloating over Washington’s, evidently chaotic pull-out, Putin stressed that “ it is not in our interests to go around in circles and keep on speaking about it as a failure".
Putin made a bigger point, that instead of imposing western way of life, a durable solution to the political crisis will have to ride and shape homegrown “from below” forces.
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“Patience is needed, whether we like something or not. At the end of the day, it is essential to grant these people the right to choose their own destiny, no matter how long it might take them to go down the road of democratizing their countries and no matter whether we like or dislike what is going on internally. We must build good-neighborly relations and respect each other’s interests on the international arena," Putin noted, as reported by the Tass news agency.
Putin spotlighted that “ it is unacceptable to impose alien standards of political life and conduct on other countries and nations, ignoring their ethnic and religious specifics, and their historical traditions".
Russia’s special envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov had earlier made it plain that "the Russian leadership will make a decision on recognizing the regime of the Taliban movement, depending on how responsibly they will govern the country".
"No one is going to hurry in this regard. The recognition or the non-recognition will depend on the behaviour of the new authorities. We will watch closely how responsibly they will govern the country in the near future. Following these results, the Russian leadership will make the necessary conclusions," the Russian diplomat said.
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A Moscow based insider told India Narrative that the Russians did not anticipate that the Taliban would mount such a rapid advance. He pointed out that Russia is really worried that the largely secular governments of Central Asia, with active and extensively networked pro-Taliban insurgents, have been put on notice. “The Taliban victory can also inflame radical elements, who have been quashed by Russia's extensive use of military force, in Chechnya, Dagestan and elsewhere,” he said.
