... together leading experts and young scholars from research institutes and universities across Russia and abroad. The conference featured two thematic sessions: “Central Eurasia: Security Challenges and Priorities for Regional Cooperation” and “Afghanistan in the Regional System: Security Challenges and Cooperation Dilemmas.”
During the session on Afghanistan, RIAC Program Coordinator Gleb Gryzlov delivered a presentation on “Pakistan–Taliban Relations: From Alliance to Confrontation.”
... with migration flows intensifying precisely during periods of heightened geopolitical pressure
As the global population of refugees
reached
a record high of 37.8 million as of mid-2024, a staggering 16 percent—nearly one in six—
originated
from Afghanistan, where people have fled decades of civil war, persecution, and state collapse. Almost 90 percent of the world's 6.1 million Afghan refugees live in neighboring Iran or Pakistan, with Iran
hosting
the largest share. As of mid-2024, Iran was ...
... is a calculated diplomatic maneuver grounded in national and regional interests
On July 3, 2025, a pivotal moment unfolded in the evolving geopolitics of South and Central Asia. The Russian Federation officially recognized the Taliban government of Afghanistan, becoming the first country in the world to do so. This diplomatic breakthrough not only marks a bold shift in Moscow’s foreign policy posture but also opens the door to a more stable and interconnected regional framework—one that prioritizes ...
...
Introduction
Post-conflict nation-building is a complex process that requires re-establishing the economy, government, and social institutions alongside managing security issues. As two of the most famous instances of post-conflict reconstruction, Afghanistan and Iraq offer valuable lessons regarding the success and failure of global interventions. While the two countries are different from one another, they both come with foreign intervention and domestic battle that makes them strategic examples ...
The current challenge Pakistan faces is dangerous and surrounded by concerns and risks
On the day of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief, General Faiz Hameed, was seen sipping coffee at the Serena Hotel in Kabul. A news channel reporter captured this moment on video and asked, “Will you be meeting with the senior leaders ...
Geopolitical turbulence, coupled with Afghanistan’s crucial geography, offers a high potential for this country to become a stage for a global conflict
For several decades, Afghanistan has been a source of threats and risks, including those of a terrorist and extremist nature, for the ...
... the SCO includes four nuclear players, which means that the organization is actually becoming a guarantor of nuclear security in the Eurasian space.
While the SCO was more about protecting its member states from the growing terrorist threat posed by Afghanistan at the initial stage, the Afghan track now remains an important, but not the only, area of this institution’s efforts. The expanding list of countries involved indicates that the SCO is essentially claiming the status of an alternative to ...
Report No. 85 / 2023
Report No. 85 / 2023
The Taliban’s (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) rise to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and the conflict in Ukraine have both had an impact on regional trends in the Middle East. This report sheds light on the transformation of new elements in Middle Eastern state relations and examines the changing role of key ...
Report No. 80/2022
Report No. 80/2022
The report by RIAC and Peking University’s Institute for International and Strategic Studies on Russian-Chinese cooperation in ensuring security in Afghanistan provides a general assessment of the security situation in the country following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021. This report highlights Moscow and Beijing’s interests in supporting stability in Afghanistan, as well as the means ...
The event was attended by leading experts on Afghan issues
On February 10, 2022, there was an online seminar "Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan: Towards a Durable Solution". The meeting was organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Schiller Institute. The goal of the meeting was to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as well as to find ...
