Moscow sticks to its guns


	November 3, 2001	atimes.com

Central Asia/Russia

Moscow sticks to its guns
By Sergei Blagov

MOSCOW - The Kremlin has repeatedly voiced its support of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance and opposed letting so-called Taliban "moderates" into the country's future government. However, some Russian security officials have their criticism of the alliance.

Russia's Federal Border Guard Service, or FPS, "has reliable information that both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance are engaged in drug trafficking across the border with Tajikistan," FPS deputy director Alexey Kozhevnikov announced earlier this week.

While it is widely reported that the Taliban are engaged in the drug trade, in recent months Russian officials have pointedly never accused the Northern Alliance of drug trafficking or even come up with any criticism of it.

Russian border guards regularly detain drug traffickers and seize illegal drugs. The latest incident took place on Wednesday when they seized 81 kilograms of heroin. Since the beginning of this year, guards have seized more than five tons of illegal drugs on the Tajik-Afghan border, including 2.2 tons of heroin.

Moreover, General Nikolai Reznichenko, FPS chief of staff, told journalists in Moscow on Thursday that Russia had tipped off the United States about the exact location of drug-producing facilities in Afghanistan. "The information was delivered to the US side in order to entail missile and air strikes against these drug laboratories," Reznichenko stated. However, he failed to make clear whether he meant drug-producing facilities belonging to the Taliban or to the Northern Alliance.

Reznichenko also hailed the cooperation of the authorities of Tajikistan, where thousands of Russian border guards are based. Since signing an agreement with Moscow on the status of the Russian border guards, the Tajik government has regularly paid their expenses, Reznichenko said. "The relations between Russian border guards and Tajik authorities are very good," he stated.

Tajikistan seemingly remains loyal to the international drive to oust the Taliban. Notably, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov confirmed on Thursday his country's readiness to "help the international community in providing humanitarian aid to Afghan people via Tajik territory". Tajikistan still adheres to the position as fixed in the joint Tajik-Russo-Afghan statement, Rakhmonov was quoted as saying by Russia's official RIA news agency.

On October 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Dushanbe with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and President Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose government was unseated by the Taliban five years ago. They issued a joint statement pledging to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan and Central Asia as well as to help Afghan refugees.

Putin once again confirmed that Russia recognized Rabbani's government as legitimate. Russia has long opposed the Taliban, whom the Kremlin has repeatedly accused of supporting Chechen separatists. There was no mention of the Rabbani's government's alleged involvement in the drug trade. Putin also pledged to continue supporting Rabbani's government in its fight against terrorism, including "military-technical assistance".

Moscow has recently increased arms supplies to the Northern Alliance. Earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry disclosed that it had supplied the alliance with outdated weapons from the ministry's stocks. For instance, Russia plans to deliver to the anti-Taliban opposition 40 Soviet-made T-55 tanks, and more than 100 BMP-1, BMP-2 and BTR-60 armored vehicles by the end of this year.

In recent weeks, Russian military officials have repeatedly stated that "old but reliable" Russian weapons perfectly suit the rough conditions of the on-going Afghan war, notably because Afghan fighters used these weapons "better than Russian conscripts".

Since these pieces of military hardware were designed and manufactured more than three decades ago, they are not exactly expensive. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, its supplies to the Northern Alliance will total US$45 million by the end of 2001. However, the ministry declined to reveal financial details of the deal, or even whether Moscow expects any kind of repayments in exchange for these arms.

Moscow acknowledges that the Afghan conflict may have direct repercussions for other Central Asian states. According to the Russian military, there are up to 8,000 Uzbek militants in Northern Afghanistan among the Taliban forces. They are headed by Uzbek Muslim militant Djuma Namangani, also known as Djumabai Khodjayev, who is now sought by Uzbek authorities. Khodjayev used to be a Soviet paratrooper and served in Afghanistan before the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

Former Soviet troops pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989 after a failed 10-year Soviet intervention to prop up a pro-communist government in Kabul. In 1993, Namangani reportedly joined Afghan militants. He and his supporters aim at setting up an Islamic state in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. Two years ago, Namangani endeavored to infiltrate Uzbekistan, marching through Kyrgyz territory, but retreated following a brief spell of fighting. Not surprisingly, Kyrgyz authorities remain weary of Namangani's maneuvers.

And also not surprisingly, the Kyrgyz government now seeks extra Russian military aid. According to General Vladimir Varfolomeyev, Russia's military attache in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz military has asked for ammunition, helicopter engines and communication equipment worth some $2.5 million. Russia is considering swapping extra supplies for lease payments as Russia still uses two military bases in Kyrkyzstan: a communications center and a naval facility on Issyk-Kul Lake, Varfolomeyev was quoted by RIA as saying.

Yet, despite new arms shipments to the region, Moscow has repeatedly ruled out its direct involvement in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed Pakistani media speculation that Moscow would send some 250,000 troops to Afghanistan. "Probably, the Pakistanis themselves want it," Ivanov was quoted as saying by Interfax. Russia was not going to widen its role in anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan, regardless of the actual progress of the US operations there, Ivanov commented.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is sticking to its tough anti-Taliban stance. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov ruled out any participation of Taliban elements, however moderate, in a future government in Kabul. The Taliban were responsible for "crimes committed in Afghanistan and for the tragedy which the Afghan people are now suffering," Ivanov was quoted as saying by RIA. It was incorrect "to divide the Taliban into moderate and less moderate," he said.

However, the Taliban cannot be ousted exclusively by air strikes, argued Alexey Arbatov, deputy chairman of the defense committee of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. The US was likely to need more bases in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to conduct a "major operation" in Afghanistan, he said.

US troops could stay in the Central Asian region, notably in the event of continuing instability following the military operations in Afghanistan, Arbatov said. Moreover, the US military presence in Central Asia "may become acceptable" for Russia, but only in the case of "close cooperation" between Moscow and Washington, Arbatov argued.

Until recently, the idea of any US military presence in Central Asia was anathema to Russian military officials. Hence, Arbatov's statement may be viewed as an attempt to probe the US position on the eve of a crucial US-Russian summit later this month. However, it remains to be seen what kind of "close cooperation", which could be traded for the US military build-up in Central Asia, Moscow has in mind.

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