RIAC expert: “If the CIS is invaded, the Taliban will be hit”
In connection with the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan, Russia should strengthen its southern borders and be ready to fight back on the border.
An expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs, Kamran Gasanov, told Komsomolskaya Pravda, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports this.
He notes that after the US fled, a Sharia regime was established in Afghanistan.
“Officially, the Taliban are limited to the territory of Afghanistan, but in terms of methods they are not very different from other radicals known to us, practicing cutting off limbs for theft, and for other crimes - gallows or execution. This model of Islam (and the entire governmental structure of the new Afghanistan) poses a danger to its neighbors and may become attractive to Muslims in neighboring countries of Central Asia who are dissatisfied with corruption or authoritarianism of local authorities,” warns Hasanov.
According to him, Russia in this situation should strengthen control and strengthen checkpoints on the borders with Central Asia, since militants of terrorist organizations can easily penetrate into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan under the guise of refugees from Afghanistan.
“And in global terms, we need to work on increasing our presence in the region, attracting Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the CSTO in order to jointly create a common security contour. Finally, we need clear signals to Kabul that the export of radical ideology and support for Islamists in Central Asia will be severely punished,” says the expert.
The publication asked whether Russia would have to send troops to Afghanistan.
The political scientist believes that if Russian intelligence establishes that the Taliban actually support Islamist militants in Central Asia, then, naturally, it will be necessary to respond.
“Of course, as in the case of Syria, the request of the republics themselves will be required; we cannot think about their security more than they do themselves. If extremists from Afghanistan try to invade the CIS territory, we will have to fight back at the border. And a direct invasion, like in 1979, is a very dangerous idea. Air strikes on terrorist bases are possible, but only together with the countries of Central Asia, in a common coalition, so that it does not look like “Russia is bombing Muslims,” Hasanov concluded.
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