Leonid Slutsky: “The rapid withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has seriously complicated the already difficult situation in the region located in close proximity to the borders of Russia and our key partners.
Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, giving a lecture at the Far Eastern Federal University, said that in the event of an attack by militants from Afghanistan on Tajikistan, this situation will be immediately considered by the CSTO. Moscow and Dushanbe are allies under the Collective Security Treaty. The Russian Federation will fulfill all its obligations under bilateral and multilateral agreements, including using the capabilities of its military base on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke about this a day earlier.
The case with the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is very indicative. As soon as the US military left their bases, they were immediately occupied by the militants of the radical Taliban movement banned in Russia. A natural question arises: what has the American army been doing in this country for so many years, if the extremists not only have not been defeated, but, apparently, have not even been weakened? Western allies failed to properly train and strengthen the armed forces of Afghanistan. Videos have already appeared on the Internet in which Taliban militants brag about American military equipment seized from Afghan security forces. Where did the millions of dollars of American taxpayers go, why was so much blood shed in the end?
Here you can also recall the broken promises of the United States, given to Afghans who worked with the American military. Not all of their aides are being evacuated by the American authorities, leaving them and their families face to face with the Taliban. By the way, this is a good example of Washington’s attitude towards partners and the fulfillment of its obligations. Some countries are worth taking note of.
The State Duma Committee on International Affairs will closely monitor this situation, maintaining contacts with colleagues in the countries of the region on the parliamentary line. Not only Tajikistan may face a threat; I don’t even want to speak out loud about a possible negative development of events.”
