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Andrey Kortunov:
Afghanistan Will Test SCO's Capacity
The SCO faces the question of how to deal with the Taliban government. Afghanistan is an observer state of the SCO and regularly participated in SCO’s summits and other activities. There is also an SCO – Afghanistan Contact Group. The SCO needs to consider whether it is prepared to allow the Taliban to succeed the seat of the former Afghan government and what impact this will have on the internal unity of the SCO, because some state members, for example,...
... Finland; P.S. Raghavan, Former Chairman, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), former Ambassador to Russia; and Mikhail Konarovsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation; Leading Research Fellow, Center for East Asia and SCO Studies, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University; RIAC Member.
Session 2 focused on the implications of recent developments in Afghanistan for third parties - the United States, China, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf region. Their influence on the situation in Afghanistan was discussed by Arun K Singh, Member, NSAB, former Ambassador to the US; Gleb Ivashentsov, Ambassador Extraordinary ...
... Despite talks between Rahmon and the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to safeguard regional peace and stability, Moscow’s towering military presence and influence in the region is hard to overcome.
Resuming international cooperation?
Andrey Kortunov:
Afghanistan Will Test SCO's Capacity
Russia’s commitment within its backyard, however, seems not to be enough in order to fight international actors such as terrorist groups. On the anniversary of the 9/11 twin towers attacks, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly ...
... issues in a multilateral format. Afghanistan, as well as neighboring Iran, has an observer status within SCO; Turkmenistan coordinates its Afghan policies with SCO countries; all other regional players are full-fledged members to the organization. The SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group has existed since the fall of 2005 and it has already accumulated a lot of useful practical experience. Still, until recently, the contact group operated in the shadows of the Western intervention in the country. The time has ...
... Pakistan in the preparation of this event is appreciable.
Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed these views during in an interview and its important points are shared below:
Q1.: Recently, another round of consultations took place in Moscow as part of the extended “Troika” on Afghanistan, which will likely to be followed by a session of talks in Doha. What are the prospects for an intra-Afghan dialogue given that the government of President Ashraf Ghani avoids such negotiations? How will peace and security in South Asia be ...
... must be fought on multiple fronts. Russia's drug policy needs to involve a wider concept of security that not only encompasses the threat to national security, but also the human and social threat of drugs. Intense cooperation with Central Asia and Afghanistan through the SCO and CSTO is essential, as is strict border policing and law enforcement. Nonetheless, this no-tolerance policy for the supply side of the drug trade needs to be complemented with a softer approach for the demand side at home. To dwell on the social ...
... Pakistan. India’s political sensitivity in this regard is quite understandable, and it is something that the SCO will have to keep in mind.
The package of documents approved in Bishkek draws particular attention to the approval of further actions by the SCO–Afghanistan Contact Group in order to facilitate the expedited launch of the peace process in Afghanistan. The instability in the country and the protracted armed confrontation between Kabul and its Taliban opponents have been the principal challenge ...
... University) and Andrey Kortunov (Russian International Affairs Council), the paper contextualizes the bilateral relationship in Central Asia, points of friction, and potential areas for cooperation amid an extremely tense relationship between Washington and Moscow.
Envisioning Opportunities for U.S.-Russia Cooperation in and with Central Asia
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... activities in regional security of the SCO itself are unlikely to be successful if additional attention is not paid to the Afghan issue. With this in mind, an attempt was made last autumn to give a new impetus to the work of the previously established SCO–Afghanistan Contact Group in an expanded format. A meeting was held in Moscow last autumn, and another one took place in Beijing on the eve of the Qingdao summit. However, serious interest in increasing the SCO’s activities regarding Afghanistan expressed ...
... the Russian International Affairs Council received Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai for an event with participation of key Russian experts from academic institutes, MGIMO, Higher School of Economics, NGOs, Russian Foreign Ministry, Afghanistan Embassy and journalists.
In his opening remarks Mr. Karzai expanded on his country’s military, economic and political environment, as well as on transition to a stable development pattern for Afghanistan and the entire region, with special ...
