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Russia, NATO to Discuss Afghanistan Conflict

Russia, NATO to Discuss Afghanistan Conflict

BRUSSELS - Representatives from Russia and the Western military alliance NATO will discuss the Afghanistan conflict on Oct. 26 in Brussels, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said on Wednesday. The security situation in the war-torn Asian country has deteriorated in recent months as the fundamentalist Islamist Taliban movement has captured significant territory from the central government. The U.S., which has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan for over 15 years in the longest U.S. war in history, accused Russia earlier this year of supplying guns to the extremist organisation. However, Russia has rejected the allegations. According to comments carried by the Interfax news agency, Kabulov said he would address the NATO-Russia Council to explain Russia’s assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan and its future potential. The Soviet Union fought ultimately unsuccessfully against Islamist forces in Afghanistan throughout the 1980s in an effort to support the country’s then-socialist leadership. Russian officials have accused the U.S. of helping to foster the Taliban during that conflict. The Taliban, which went on to rule Afghanistan, was toppled during the 2001 U.S. invasion, in retaliation for Taliban-connected terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Afghanistan’s leadership is now closely allied with the U.S. (Monitoring Desk)