MOSCOW: When the Taliban swept over Afghanistan, Russia was ready for the rapid developments after working methodically for years to lay the groundwork for relations with the group that it still officially considers a terrorist organization.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized this week that Moscow was “in no rush” to recognize the Taliban as the new rulers of Afghanistan, but he added there were “encouraging signals” of their readiness to let other political forces join the government and allow girls into schools.
The Taliban was added to the Russian list of terrorist organizations in 2003, and Moscow has not yet moved to remove the group from the list. Any contact with such groups is punishable under Russian law, but the Foreign Ministry has responded to questions about the seeming contradiction by saying that its exchanges with the Taliban are essential for international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
Unlike many other countries, Russia said it wouldn’t evacuate its embassy in Kabul, and its ambassador quickly met with the Taliban for what he described as “constructive” talks after they took over the capital.
The Soviet Union fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with its troops withdrawing in 1989. Since then, Moscow has made a comeback as an influential power broker in international talks on Afghanistan. It has worked continuously to cultivate ties with the Taliban, hosting their representatives for a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings.
“We have maintained contacts with the Taliban for the last seven years, discussing many issues,” Kremlin envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier this week. “We saw them as a force that will play a leading role in Afghanistan in the future even if it doesn’t take all power. All those factors, along with guarantees given to us by the Taliban’s top leaders, give us reason for a calm view of the latest developments, although we remain vigilant.”
A month before Taliban militants unleashed their offensive that ended with the seizure of Kabul, their delegation visited Moscow to offer assurances that they wouldn’t threaten the interests of Russia and its ex-Soviet allies in Central Asia — a sign that they consider ties with Russia a priority.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Sohail Shaheen said during a visit last month to the Russian capital that “we won’t allow anyone to use the Afghan territory to attack Russia or neighboring countries,” noting that “we have very good relations with Russia.”
Russian diplomats say they trust the group’s assurances, noting the Taliban’s focus on fighting the Daesh group, which Moscow sees as the main threat from Afghanistan. Moscow also has hailed the Taliban’s pledge to combat drug trafficking and stem the flow of drugs from Afghanistan via Central Asia.
Russian ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, praised the Taliban as “reasonable guys” following a “positive and constructive meeting” this week. He added that the Taliban guaranteed the embassy’s security.
“Russian diplomats are doing all they can to consolidate the contacts they have established with the Taliban,” Moscow-based analyst Alexei Makarkin said in a commentary. “Russian representatives cast the Taliban as moderate and responsible, acting as their advocates in the public sphere.”
He argued that the Taliban might not try to project their influence to the ex-Soviet Central Asian nations for now, but that could change later after securing a hold on Afghanistan.
“The Taliban’s leaders will be unlikely to launch an expansion now, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t take such steps in the future,” Makarkin observed, noting that multiple factions inside the Taliban may have varying goals.
Despite the Taliban’s assurances, Russia has held a series of joint war games with its allies in Central Asia in recent weeks to underline its pledge to help them fend off any possible security threats from Afghanistan. The latest of those drills began in Tajikistan this week.
While cultivating contacts with Taliban officials, Russia will be unlikely to move quickly to formally recognize their government, at least not until the group is removed from the United Nations list of terrorist organizations.
“It’s premature to say that we would make any unilateral political steps,” Lavrov said this week.
Kabulov, the Kremlin envoy, emphasized that Moscow’s recognition of the Taliban will hinge on “whether they will govern the country in a responsible way in the near future, and proceeding from that, the Russian leadership will make the necessary conclusions.” He added that Russia would only take the Taliban off its list of terrorist organizations after the UN Security Council decides to remove it from its terror list.
Russian diplomats argued that the US-led campaign in Afghanistan helped change Afghan perceptions of the Soviet invasion and made many local leaders willing to accept Moscow’s mediation.
When Washington went to war with the Taliban after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for harboring Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, Moscow offered a helping hand, welcoming US bases in the Central Asian nations of the former Soviet Union to support operations in Afghanistan. But as US-Russia relations have grown increasingly strained, Russia grew more critical.
Still, Moscow and Washington have continued to coordinate their diplomatic moves on Afghanistan, and Russian officials have angrily rejected the allegations last year that Moscow paid the Taliban to kill US soldiers.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, driven by fears that the US was trying to establish a foothold there after losing Iran to the Islamic Revolution. The Soviet plans for a quick campaign bogged down in fierce resistance by the US-backed guerrillas, known as mujahedeen, or holy warriors. The Soviet Union lost more than 15,000 troops, according to official count, while estimates of civilian casualties in that period have varied widely, from more than 500,000 up to 2 million.
Many in Russia gloated over the quick collapse of the US-backed Afghan government, pointing out that President Mohammad Najibullah’s communist government held on for three years after the Soviet withdrawal until Moscow’s aid completely halted following the 1991 collapse of the USSR.
“The regime created by the Americans tumbled down even before they left, that’s a principal difference,” Kabulov said, adding that he and others in Russia didn’t expect such a fast meltdown.
Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy head of the defense and security committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, told The Associated Press that the US has left behind huge arsenals of weapons that fell into the Taliban’s hands.
“Who would make such gifts to terrorists after fighting them for 20 years?” said Klintsevich, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
Russia was ready for Taliban’s win due to longtime contacts
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Russia was ready for Taliban’s win due to longtime contacts
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow ‘in no rush’ to recognize Taliban rule
- The Taliban was added to the Russian list of terrorist organizations in 2003
Australia, Turkiye in 2026 UN climate summit hosting standoff
- The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures
BAKU: Australia and Turkiye are in a standoff over which country is better suited to host United Nations climate change talks in 2026, with neither willing to give up on their bid.
Both countries have been in the running since 2022, but matters have come to a head at this year’s COP29 summit being held this week in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Australia’s climate minister made a last-minute stop in Turkiye on Friday, his office confirmed, hoping to reach a deal on the Australian bid. However, Turkish officials declined to drop their bid and the two remain in talks.
The host has a central role in brokering compromises at the annual summit and steering the final phase of negotiations. This can deliver both diplomatic prestige and a global platform to promote the country’s green industries.
The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures.
Every country has a shot at hosting, if they want to, as a member of one of five regional groups to take it in turns.
That system has drawn criticism as fossil fuel producers including the United Arab Emirates have played host — raising concerns among campaigners over whether countries which are deeply invested in polluting industries can be honest brokers of climate talks.
Fatma Varank, Turkiye’s deputy environment minister, told Reuters that the country’s Mediterranean location would help reduce emissions from flights bringing delegates to the conference, and highlighted its smaller oil and gas industry compared with Australia.
Australia is among the world’s largest exporters of fossil fuels.
“We don’t deny the fact that we have traditionally been a fossil fuel exporter, but we’re in the middle of a transition to changing to export renewable energy,” Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen told Reuters at COP29.
“We have a story to tell,” he said, explaining that Australia was pitching a ‘Pacific COP’ to elevate issues affecting the region’s vulnerable island states.
Turkiye, which has a small oil and gas industry, gets around 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels and was Europe’s second-largest producer of coal-fired electricity in 2023.
It offered to host the COP26 talks in 2021 but withdrew its bid, allowing Britain to preside over the summit. Varank said Turkiye was reluctant to step aside again.
Whoever wins would need unanimous backing from the 28 countries in the UN’s Western Europe and Others regional group. There is no firm deadline, although hosts are often confirmed years in advance to give them time to prepare.
Members including Germany, Canada and Britain have publicly backed Australia. Pacific leaders have backed Australia on the condition that it elevates the climate issues they suffer such as coastal erosion and rising seas.
Fiji’s climate secretary Sivendra Michael told Reuters the country backed Australia’s bid.
“But we are also cautiously reminding them of the national efforts that they need to make to transition away from fossil fuels,” Michael said.
Turkiye declined to say which members of the regional group had offered it support.
Ukraine, Middle East conflicts eating into US air defense stocks, US admiral says
- Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world
WASHINGTON: Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into US stockpiles of air defenses, the top US admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday.
The admission by Admiral Sam Paparo could draw the attention of members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, who are more skeptical of the war in Ukraine and who argue that President Joe Biden has failed to prepare for a potential conflict with China.
“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said during an event.
Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world.
Biden’s administration has been steadily arming Ukraine and Israel with its most sophisticated air defenses. The US Navy has been directly defending shipping in the Red Sea in the face of missile and drone attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In the case of Ukraine, Biden has given Kyiv a full array of defenses, including Patriot missiles and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile systems.
The United States last month deployed to Israel a THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, and about 100 US troops to operate it. The THAAD is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems.
Progressive senators call to block US arms sales to Israel
- The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians
WASHINGTON: A handful of left-leaning senators on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to halt arms sales to Israel, accusing the United States of playing a key role in the “atrocities” of the war in Gaza.
The four senators gave the media conference ahead of a Wednesday vote on resolutions condemning the US weapons sales — measures that are expected to fail given the large number of lawmakers who support Israel, a historic American ally.
The resolutions were put forth by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, alongside several other Democrats.
The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings and infrastructure.
“What makes it even more painful is that much of what is happening there has been done with US weapons and with American taxpayer support,” he said.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
The war began first began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The administration of President Joe Biden has steadfastly backed Israel while counseling restraint for more than a year.
“The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities,” Sanders said. “That complicity must end and that is what these resolutions are about.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, also speaking at the media conference, questioned whether America’s foreign policy and commitment to Israel had forced the United States to “be blind to the suffering before our very eyes?“
French president urges Putin to ‘listen to reason’ on Ukraine
- Emmanuel Macron said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to "use all his influence" with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
RIO DE JANEIRO: French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “listen to reason” on Ukraine, accusing Moscow of becoming “a force of global destabilization” after it loosened its rules on using nuclear arms.
Speaking to journalists after the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the French leader said: “I want truly to call here on Russia to listen to reason. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council it has responsibilities.”
He said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the G20 to “use all his influence” with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
Macron said Russia ally China had “the capacity to negotiate with President Putin so that he halts his attacks” on Ukraine.
Macron also cited the alleged involvement of another China ally, North Korea, which has reportedly deployed thousands of troops to fight alongside Russia, as a reason for Beijing to intercede.
Russia has reacted furiously to a decision by US President Joe Biden to change policy on Ukraine and allow Kyiv to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time.
The tensions spiralled further on Tuesday after Russia said Ukraine used the missiles against a facility in Russia’s Bryansk region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was at the G20, said the escalation had brought the United States and Russia to “the brink of direct military conflict.”
’You will die in lies!’: daughter clashes with father at French rape trial
- A total of 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, are on trial, with one defendant still at large
AVIGNON, France: The daughter of the French man standing trial for enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily-sedated wife on Tuesday clashed with her father at his trial, shouting in the courtroom that he would “die in lies.”
Since early September, Dominique Pelicot has been in the dock along with 49 other men for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot.
In a closing statement, Dominique Pelicot again admitted to the accusations, saying that his “motive” was wanting to satisfy a “fantasy.”
“I came to do what I did through people who willingly accepted what I proposed,” he told the court.
Dominique Pelicot, as in previous statements, went back to his past, saying that he was affected throughout his life by a rape he said he suffered at the age of nine in hospital, and then at the age of 14 being forced to witness the gang-rape of a young girl at a building site.
“I don’t know when I’ll get out, but if I do get out (of prison), I don’t have any plans. What saddens me the most is that people think I’m capable of certain things that I’m not capable of doing,” he added.
Family lawyer Antoine Camus then interjected that Dominique Pelicot’s daughter Caroline Darian, joined in court by her brothers David and Florian, needed an “audible and human response” to the actions she says she is “convinced” she suffered at his hands.
Caroline Darian, a pen name, in 2022, wrote a book “Et j’ai cesse de t’appeler papa” (“And I stopped calling you dad“). She believes she was also assaulted by her father who took intimate photographs of her.
“I am not going to try to convince her with perverse answers,” Dominique Pelicot replied.
“I don’t remember taking these photos. I tell her straight in the eyes that I never touched her.”
He then turned to her directly and said: “Caroline, I have never done anything to you.”
But she interrupted, saying: “You lie, you don’t have the courage to tell the truth! Even about your ex-wife!“
“You will die in lies! Alone, alone in lies Dominique Pelicot!,” she continued before being interrupted by judge Roger Arata.
Nude photos taken without her knowledge and photomontages of Caroline Darian with lewd titles were found on her father’s hard drive. In some, she appears asleep, sometimes wearing her mother’s underwear.
A total of 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, are on trial, with one defendant still at large.
