Afghanistan Peace CampaignSome political analysts said that the interim government should pay attention to the ongoing competition between East and West over Afghan issues.
The Chinese president Xi Jinping, during his visit to Moscow, emphasized with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that both countries seek a stable Afghanistan, free from terrorism and a nation at peace with its neighbors.
The Russian president described the role of regional meetings and cooperation in resolving Afghanistan’s issues as vital and clarified that Moscow and Beijing share common positions on the matter.
The joint statement by the presidents of China and Russia said: “The two sides are willing to strengthen cooperation on Afghan affairs at the bilateral level and under multilateral mechanisms, promoting Afghanistan to become an independent, neutral, unified, and peaceful country, free from the harms of terrorism and drugs, and living in harmony with all neighboring countries. The two sides attach great importance to and support the positive and constructive role played by regional platforms such as the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Afghanistan’s Neighboring Countries, the ‘Moscow Format’ consultations on Afghanistan, the China-Russia-Pakistan-Iran four-country mechanism, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the political settlement of the Afghan issue.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated: “When addressing crucial international and regional issues, we reaffirmed that Russia and China maintain identical or highly aligned positions. The two countries pursue independent foreign policies and are interested in creating a more just and democratic multipolar world order. Our countries are actively cooperating within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where China is now presiding.”
Russia’s opposition to Western approaches in solving Afghan issues is not new. Previously, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized what he called Western interference in Afghan matters using the Doha process.
Some political analysts said that the interim government should pay attention to the ongoing competition between East and West over Afghan issues.
“Afghanistan now needs great prudence to adopt a policy that both benefits from Russia and China in rebuilding the country and does not come into conflict with the United States,” said Gul Mohammaduddin Mohammadi, a political analyst.
“There are countries with veto power in the UN Security Council that constantly try to maintain close relations with Afghanistan. However, they cannot boldly move toward recognizing Afghanistan formally, as they fear damaging their ties with the United States,” said Janat Faheem Chakari, a political analyst.
The shared stance of Moscow and Beijing on solving Afghan issues comes as China has accepted a diplomat of the interim government at ambassador level, and talks about sending a similar-level diplomat to Moscow are ongoing.