... the increasing power of Islamists with connections abroad, as evidenced by the presence of Afghan Mujahideen in Nagorno-Karabakh (South Caucasus) at the beginning of the 1990s
xii
.
Despite the withdrawal of Moscow, countries that could have replaced Russia, notably China, did not involve themselves in Afghanistan.
A chaotic and overlooked period of 1990 to 2001
The withdrawal of the Soviet troops led to a chaotic period in the region as a whole, particularly because of the absence of a Chinese involvement. Indeed, according to the CIA’s numerous ...
On July 30, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) co-hosted a webinar titled “Situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan: Russia’s and China’s approaches”
On July 30, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) co-hosted a webinar titled “Situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan: Russia’s and China’s approaches”....
... at the Geneva summit the potential for enhanced cooperation on Afghanistan is not out of the question despite tensions between the two powers.
China
Camilla Gironi:
Moscow Is Still Central Asia’s Top Security Ally
China shares similar ambitions to Russia in maintaining the stability of Afghanistan. China considers the Taliban a terrorist organization and is wary of the group due to its previous support for separatist Uighur Muslims in its bordering Xinjiang autonomous region. However, like Russia, China understands that the Taliban presence in Afghanistan ...
... could perceive a Chinese official communication on this subject as a deliberate choice by Beijing to challenge Russian military influence in the post-Soviet space.
Russia’s presence has been limited since the end of the USSR and the end of the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), and apart from the Russian language, Moscow is now a secondary economic partner in Central Asia, behind China, so the loss of Russian military influence could be misinterpreted.
China and the Water Crisis in Central Asia
While the international community focuses on the Uyghur Muslim and the Wakhan Corridor, the main threat to the Central Asian states will ...
With the Chinese engagement and great power competition on the rise, Russia keeps a vigilant eye on the -Stans
The latest months have been chaotic in Kyrgyzstan,... ... while the beginning of the new century started with the US military intervention in Afghanistan. Later on, new ethnic tensions mounted in the Fergana Valley, two revolutions... ... equally distributed among Central Asian states. Uzbekistan prefers buying weapons from China, while Turkey is the largest arms supplier for Turkmenistan [
ix
].
In case of...
... he will actually do it. The thing is, if we do not see any real steps made in the intra-Afghan process, then the Americans will find it increasingly difficult to put on a happy face. This is what makes the joint call of the special representatives of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan for foreign troops in Afghanistan to “withdraw in an orderly and responsible manner to ensure a smooth transition” published on May 18, 2020, particularly relevant. Both the government of Afghanistan and U.S. officials have made it clear that they are ready to open the ...
... other places, regions adjacent to Central Asia and China), as they lost control over a significant part of Syria. This development demonstrates a link between the two crisis-affected regions, especially since the majority of terrorists migrating to Afghanistan are natives of Central Asia and Muslim-populated regions of Russia and China. Such activity is unequivocally viewed as an immediate threat to the stability in the regions to the north and northeast of Afghanistan.
The SCO member states have repeatedly, and at various levels (including the very highest level), expressed their ...
The Working Group on the Future of U.S.-Russia Relations’ Report
Central Asia stands out as a comparatively “nontoxic” region where there are limited, but not insignificant, opportunities for U.S.-Russia collaboration both bilaterally and within multilateral frameworks: in the space ...
... particularly important. In a climate of the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, the effectiveness of the SCO is questioned.
China remains committed to providing resources for the state reconstruction, as it was agreed between all parties
. At the same time, Beijing is not interested in creating of “safe haven” for terrorist groups in Afghanistan because of the Uighur issue.
For Russia, the problems of countering international terrorism and controlling drug trafficking are traditionally important.
Ruslan ...
... expansion of the U.S. LNG presence in the region, for its part, may present Washington with instruments for applying pressure (including political pressure) on India, which is critically dependent on energy imports. Finally, Iran’s energy partnership with China could transform into a political partnership, effectively cutting India off from Central Asia and Afghanistan.
There are also a number of potential threats for Russia. The country could see its business opportunities in the Indian market narrowed and might end up with Europe and China as its two key gas consumers. Russian companies would end up being restricted to India’s LNG segment, in which they do not ...
