Nikolai Patrushev
Michael Hughes: Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev during remarks at a gathering of peers in Kazakhstan said the United States and Britain have tried to take advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan as part of a broader strategy to wreak havoc across Central Asia.
“The Americans and the British are trying to manipulate the terrorist insurgency in Afghanistan to their advantage by provoking tensions on the borders with Central Asian countries,” Patrushev said on Friday at the Russia-Central Asia meeting of security council chiefs. “Given the interest of Afghanistan’s neighbors in strengthening their borders and improving the training and equipping their security forces, the United States and its NATO allies are seeking to expand their presence in Central Asia and create more opportunities to influence them.”