{"id":3034,"date":"2018-05-26T05:29:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T05:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csrskabul.com\/en\/?p=3034"},"modified":"2018-05-27T05:33:30","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T05:33:30","slug":"us-russia-cold-war-and-its-impacts-on-the-afghan-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csrsaf.org\/en\/?p=3034","title":{"rendered":"US-Russia Cold War and its Impacts on the Afghan Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Hekmatullah Zaland<\/strong> \\ CSRS<\/span><\/p>\n

After 2014, the international issues like the Ukraine\u2019s became considered as incidents of New Cold War between Russian and the West and it became unblemished in recent years that there is \u201cNew Cold War\u201d going on between Washington and Moscow which has directly impacted Afghanistan as well.   <\/span><\/p>\n

With beginning of this Cold War, Russians have increased their attention toward Afghanistan and thus, Russian officials, through expressing their remarks on Afghan issue time by time, have tried to intensify its engagement in Afghanistan. Last week, the special Russian envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov expressed his new position on the Afghan peace and war that were different from the previous ones. America should share the negotiation table with the Taliban; otherwise, it would prepare from an endless war, he said.   <\/span><\/p>\n

In recent months, disputes on Afghan war have been exaggerated between Russians and American and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan. The issue of Russia\u2019s military assistance to the Taliban is particularly being discussed on international level nowadays.      <\/span><\/p>\n

How the New Cold War between U.S. and Russia revived and extended to Afghanistan? What are the reasons behind recent change in Russia\u2019s position on Afghan issue? And what are the impacts of this Cold War on the situation of Afghanistan? We have tried to answer these questions and other related concerns here.       <\/span><\/p>\n

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Washington-Moscow New Cold War<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

After WWII, and particularly after 1947, \u201cfirst\u201d Cold War became started between the Soviet Union and the West where strict rivalry was going on between the East Bloc and the West Bloc (Communism and Capitalism). In 1949, the Cold War paved the way for establishment of world\u2019s greatest military treaty (NATO) by America and Europe. Eventually, two years after its defeat in and withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Soviet Union became collapsed and thus the international Cold War became ended.       <\/span><\/p>\n

In the beginning of 21st<\/sup> century, disparities between Russia and the West, once again, start to rise up in some East European and Central Asian countries. Pro-West government became formed as a result of the 2003 Elections in Georgia which reasoned in attack of Russian on this country in 2008 where Abkhazia became separated from Georgia as an end result. The reason behind holding four controversial elections between 2004 and 2014 in Ukraine were also a result of disparities between Russia and the West which eventually paved the way for Russia\u2019s campaign on Ukraine which resulted in annexation of the Crimean peninsula to Russia through a referendum. It was in these years that the disparities of U.S. and Russia were named \u201cNew Cold War\u201d. The Cold War between them, then, entered the most serious phase in the Syrian bloody issue where Russia backs Iran against America and provides military support to pro-Iran regime in Syria as well.           <\/span><\/p>\n

This Cold War also became extended to Afghanistan due to international conflict between America and Russia as well as the developments inside Afghanistan. Russia, however, was supporting interventions of America and NATO and was cooperating with them in Afghanistan in accordance with the decisions of UN Security Council in 2001; but Russia closed NATO transport corridor to Afghanistan for the first time in May 2015[1]<\/a> and thus the Cold War of the two rivals extended to Afghanistan.     <\/span><\/p>\n

With emerge and expansion of the Khurasan Branch of Islamic State (ISIS-K) in 2015, Russia\u2019s fear became increased and so it accused Americans of being behind the group for many times. Hence, it started to establish ties with the Taliban and, eventually, held a trilateral meeting with China and Pakistan on Afghanistan in late 2016. Henceforth, Russia uses \u201cits ties with Taliban\u201d as a pressure tool in the New Cold War.   <\/span><\/p>\n

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What Does New Position of Russian Mean?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A part of the Cold War between America and Russia is Russia\u2019s ties with the Taliban which seems unnatural considering the past enmity between Taliban and Russia; however, the both parties established these ties in view of their own needs and have accepted them. [2]<\/a>Taliban translate their ties with Russia as their recognition by important regional and world counties; however, Russia justifies its ties with Taliban somehow different. Russia has justified its relations with Taliban in the following three points:   <\/span><\/p>\n