Russian concern over Afghanistan

Is this negotiation by press release?

Lavrov Concerned over U.S. Plans to Keep Afghan Bases

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concerns on Thursday over U.S. plans to keep its military contingent in Afghanistan after the pullout of international troops in 2014.

RIA Novosti,

19 April, 2012

At the same time, Lavrov said Moscow was worried about the drug and terrorism situation in Afghanistan after the pullout.

“We … do not understand such [U.S.] plans to maintain a presence …, we have questions and we would like to get answers,” Lavrov told a news conference following the foreign ministerial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels.

He said the international contingent stayed in Afghanistan under a UN Security Council mandate.

“So long as the Afghan side is unable to provide security in the country, any artificial deadlines for troops’ withdrawal do not seem quite correct,” he said. “But when the UN Security Council mandate expires, there will be no reason for a foreign presence in Afghanistan and the region.”

The minister also expressed concerns about the persisting threat of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately despite all the international efforts, the threat of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan persists,” the minister said. Russia “is concerned how things are going to develop after the International Security Assistance Force is pulled out of Afghanistan.”

According to Russia’s federal drug control watchdog, heroin production in Afghanistan rose 40-fold in the past decade, and opium poppy plantations cover 130,000 hectares in the Central Asian country.

The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs said the Taliban made $150 million from drug production annually and total drug profits amounted to $4 billion.

Russia’s relations with Afghanistan have been complex over the Taliban’s support for separatists in Chechnya.

Imaginary conversation:

U.S./Europe -- "Excuse me China and Russia. We're in the middle of collapsing and we may not be able to keep the region stable. Could you help us out a little bit?"

China -- "We're kind of committed to taking care of the South China Sea? Can you help use there? Then there's this issue about the dollar, inflation and oil prices."

Russia: -- "We have you by the balls on Iran and Syria. I think we should discuss your closure of bases in the region and perhaps, Missile Defense. Then there's this issue about the dollar, inflation and oil prices." -- MCR

NATO head calls on China, Russia to help fund Afghan forces

The head of NATO called on China and Russia on Thursday to help fund Afghan security after 2014, as the alliance tries to rally contributions from a wider range of sources before most foreign combat troops pull out of Afghanistan.

News Daily,

19 April, 2012

NATO estimates that the annual cost of maintaining Afghan security forces will be some $4 billion, and the United States is hoping for contributions worth 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) from other NATO allies and partners. But so far only Britain has publicly pledged an actual amount of cash, $110 million a year.

"We would welcome financial contributions from Russia, China and other countries to ensure a strong sustainable Afghan security force beyond 2014," Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in Brussels, where NATO foreign and defense ministers were meeting to prepare for a summit next month in Chicago.

The United States and NATO, keen to douse fears Afghanistan could face renewed civil war when foreign troops pull out, want to use the summit to demonstrate a long-term commitment to Afghan stability that will endure well after 2014.

China has significant economic stakes in Afghanistan and is also a close ally of neighboring Pakistan, making it potentially a strong partner in helping to foster stability.

With the world's biggest foreign exchange reserves, it is also better placed than many western countries struggling with economic downturn to help pay for stability in Afghanistan.

Analysts have suggested, however, that China would be wary of becoming too sucked in to problems in Afghanistan, and would not want to be seen to taking sides if this were to make it a target for Islamist militants.

On Thursday, NATO ministers met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and tried to narrow differences with Russia over Syria, Afghanistan and missile defense - all areas where NATO allies would like Russian support to promote stability.

Lavrov did not respond at the meeting to Rasmussen's request for financial help, according to a western diplomat familiar with the talks.

But Russia's cooperation with western troops in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is expected to expand soon. Currently Russia allows ISAF to use a rail route through Russian territory to transport equipment.

Rasmussen said Russia had offered the use of a new transit route, which will allow ISAF to send supplies in and out of Afghanistan using both the Russian rail network and air transport. The route is expected to pass through the town of Ulyanovsk, said two officials, one in Russia and one in Brussels.

The United States and its allies have been building up alternative routes in and out of Afghanistan, reducing its dependence on Pakistan, which suspended supply routes after a NATO cross-border air attack in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

However, despite the progress on expanding supply routes through Russia, President-elect Vladimir Putin is likely to turn down an invitation from NATO to attend the Chicago summit.

"I have talked with President-elect Putin, and we agreed that due to a very busy domestic political calendar in Russia, just a few weeks after his inauguration as a new president of Russia, it's not possible and not practical also to have a NATO-Russia Summit meeting in Chicago," Rasmussen said.

Russian diplomats have said Putin was unlikely to attend in the absence of an agreement bridging deep differences over U.S. and NATO plans for a European anti-missile shield.

Lavrov repeated complaints over the missile defense system, which Russia says risks tipping the balance of nuclear power between itself and the United States in NATO'S favor. NATO says the shield is meant to protect against a potential Iranian threat and not against Russia.

"We need clear guarantees that it is not targeted against us," Lavrov said.