... negative interplay with the instability in neighbouring Afghanistan as well as with the prospect of the Middle Eastern conflict expanding into Central Asia and Afghanistan (including through mechanisms to recruit international terrorists and militants, Islamic State infiltrating Afghanistan and Central Asia, and the inflow of funds from the Middle East to support extremist and terrorist groups). However, under the “no change” scenario, the Turkmen authorities will manage to keep these processes under a certain level of control, which ...
... Affairs Council on April 18, 2016.
The three issues that cause the biggest concern are:
— the spread of instability from Afghanistan to the north and to the Central Asian states that border Russia;
— Russia’s transformation from a transit country into a market for Afghan heroin, which kills 25,000 Russians every year;
— the formation of Islamic State (DAISH) Infrastructure in Afghanistan, which may start exporting its practices to the Russian North Caucasus and ...
... Afghanistan-related challenges, including drugs, illegal migration, infiltration of combatants into Central Asia, etc. after all the Western military and nonmilitary missions have concluded... ... absence of real interaction, all attempts to restore peace will be doomed to failure.
Afghanistan would like to swap its SCO observer status for full membership.
Meanwhile... ....
Brussels seems aware of the threats posed by Taliban and the self-declared ‘Islamic State’ (IS), as well as of the vulnerability and poor efficiency of Afghan...