The Insider, 29 April 2024
Analysis by Prof. Artemy M. Kalinovsky, currently at Temple University Philadelphia, on Russia’s possible plan to take the Taleban – banned ion Russia, despite open diplomatic contacts – from its list of terrorist groups, after the alleged ISKP-authored Crocus City Hall attack near Moscow.
Kalinovsky writes:
Cooperation with the Taliban (…) appears to Moscow the only path to preserving stability in Afghanistan and preventing a spillover north [of ISKP from Afghanistan]. This dynamic is all the more true after the Crocus attack. (…) The Taliban, after all, had never threatened Central Asia, let alone Russia itself.
Unbanning the Taleban…
… would make deeper cooperation, particularly on security matters, much easier. Moscow could then scale up intelligence sharing, training, and even supplies of equipment that have become part of the anti-terrorist toolkit — not just arms, but also facial recognition technology and other advanced computing capabilities. (…)
The Kremlin has promised further engagement were the Taliban to fulfill crucial conditions, including creating a government representing different ethnic groups in the country.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 7 May 2024
