Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 20, 2021 Russia is hosting a high-level Taliban delegation for talks attended by officials from China, Pakistan, and eight other countries, as Moscow seeks to assert its influence on Central Asia amid worries about instability or violence spilling from Afghanistan into the region. The October 20 conference in Moscow is
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 15, 2021 Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 15 said the Islamic State (IS) militant group has thousands of fighters in northern Afghanistan, as Moscow prepares to host international talks next week on the situation in the country. “According to our intelligence, the number of (IS) members alone in northern
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS October 13, 2021 Several Central Asia states have evidence the United States is playing a “destructive” role in the region in the wake of the U.S. troop exit from Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin said on Wednesday at a virtual meeting with counterparts from the Commonwealth of Independent
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service September 25, 2021 Officials in Dushanbe say they’ve received reports that Tajik militants who fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan are now making plans to cross the border into Tajikistan. An official at Tajikistan’s Border Service, a branch of the State National Security Committee, confirmed to RFE/RL that Tajik authorities are reviewing
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 23, 2021 It has been more than a month since the international community was confronted with the fact that the Taliban had seized control over almost all of Afghanistan. Some countries are still cautious or vague about their positions on the Taliban-led government. But Uzbekistan, which shares a
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty September 13, 2021 The surprising speed with which the Taliban took control over most of Afghanistan after foreign forces began withdrawing from the country left Afghanistan’s neighbors in a difficult predicament. All of them had considered the possibility the militant group could seize power, but suddenly they needed to
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 24, 2021 There has been a good deal of speculation about how the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and the dramatic change of power there will affect Central Asia’s relations with the big powers. Some say Russia’s presence in the region will be strengthened, or perhaps China’s,
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 18, 2021 The events that the governments of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have been increasingly dreading in recent weeks have begun to happen. The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban and despite the Central Asian governments having had years to contemplate and plan for such an occurrence,
By Jonny Tickle RT / August 17, 2021 The capture of Afghanistan by the Taliban is “another American scam against Muslims.” That’s according to Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, who suggested that the terrorist group is controlled by Washington. Speaking on a video posted by one of his sons, Adam, Kadyrov urged everyone
By Mike Eckel Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 17, 2021 Chaos enveloped Kabul’s main airport, with thousands of Afghans frantically rushing to flee Taliban fighters while U.S. Marines sought to provide security for American diplomats and allies being evacuated. Across town outside the Russian Embassy on August 16, it was a different scene: Taliban fighters taking