NATO Chief Arrives in Moscow To Have Russia Involved in Afghan War
Front page <http://english.pravda.ru/> / Russia <http://english.pravda.ru/russia/> / Politics <http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/> 17.12.2009 http://english.pravda.ru/img/ar_gr.gifSource: Pravda.Ru <http://english.pravda.ru/> <http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/17-12-2009/111201-nato-0> Increase font size <http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/17-12-2009/111201-nato-0> Decrease font size <javascript:printopen('/print/russia/politics/111201-nato-0');> print version Pages: 1 http://english.pravda.ru/img/0.gif NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Moscow on December 16 for an official visit. The official asked Russia to support NATO troops with arms, military training and a new additional railway channel to maintain the troops in Afghanistan. Rasmussen said prior to his visit to Moscow that he would like to see Russia’s further participation in training NATO’s military contingent in Afghanistan. He also said that Russia could provide arms and other military equipment for security forces in Afghanistan. In other words, the NATO bloc, which does not seem to be able to cope with Afghan Mujahedeens, would like to receive AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, guns, grenade launchers, shoulder-carried air defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles, An-32 cargo planes and helicopters. There is nothing surprising about the fact that NATO needs the Russian arms. They are reliable, better and easier to use. The weapons, which NATO troops use, do not function very well under extreme conditions of Afghan natural environment. What may Russia gain from this cooperation with NATO? Does the alliance intend to have Russia involved in its endless war? The USA had a similar experience in the beginning of the 1950s when the nation found itself involved in the war in Vietnam. Pavel Zolotarev, an expert with the Institute for the USA and Canada said in an interview with Pravda.Ru that Russia was interested in establishing cooperation with NATO. “Americans and their allies need to stay in Afghanistan. We only need to help them in a reasonable way, and we should of course sell our weapons to them. When the alliance needs something from us, it is being very nice with Russia, but if there is an intense situation, like it was during the Caucasian war last year, NATO does not want to speak to us at all. “Americans and their allies need to stay in Afghanistan, because the situation there will be destabilized otherwise. We’ve learned this lesson in 1979 – what happens in Afghanistan if it is left without attention. If Taliban and al-Qaeda win the fight there, it will affect the situation in Russia’s Caucasus in the worst way,” the expert said. Konstantin Sivkov, the first vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences, believes that Rasmussen’s requests automatically imply Russia’s direct participation in the Afghan war. “How can we assist them in training the allied troops? Russian troops will have to be sent there for that. If they manage to have Russia involved, the Russian administration will be disgraced both inside and outside of the country. This is extremely dangerous taking into consideration what may happen in the Muslim world. The war in Afghanistan is the war against the whole Afghan nation. US officials recently said that there were probably a hundred of al-Qaeda members left. What do they mean by ‘international terrorism’ then? Afghanistan does not pose a danger to Russia. This country needs our food shipments, and they are ready to be in commercial relations with our country,” the expert said. Sergey Balmasov Pravda.Ru http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/17-12-2009/111201-nato-0
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