Afghanistan: Russia and NATO Near Deal
It appears that a deal is in the works between NATO and the Russian government for greater cooperation in Afghanistan. The deal would allow NATO troops the use of Russian land and airspace, the possible leasing of Russian planes and trains, and Russian training for Afghan helicopter pilots and counter-narcotics assistance at a center in Moscow. At a NATO meeting in Spain last year, then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov asserted that the country’s stability was a ‘vital, visceral interest’ for Russia.
Discussing the potential alliance, NATO spokesman James Appathurai stated; ‘Discussions are under way. There is no deal done. We are working towards an agreement at the Bucharest Summit [April 2-4]”
The deal would also try to strengthen and solidify cooperation between the two regarding countering Afghan’s tremendous narcotics problem. NATO and Russia already work together training Afghan and Central Asian drug enforcement officials, but each side agrees that much more needs to be done.
This deal is not being made in a vacuum however, as the specter of Ukraine and Georgia’s possible ascension to NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) and the US placement of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland are high on everyone’s agenda. Putin and Russia have not been shy in voicing their opposition with both of these measures (though there has been some progress concerning the missile defense system). Western diplomats have denied that Russian assistance in Afghanistan was in anyway a trade off to keep Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO, though it does not appear the two nations will be admitted to a MAP at the next NATO meeting in about a month.
Coming up: A discussion of Russia’s new President, Dmitry Medvedev, and how his new administration will affect Russia’s policy in Central Asia.
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
[…] Patrick Frost says that a deal is in the works between NATO and the Russian government for greater cooperation in Afghanistan. The looming deal would possibly allow NATO troops the use of Russian land and airspace, the possible leasing of Russian planes and trains, and Russian training for Afghan helicopter pilots and counter-narcotics assistance. Share This […]
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
[…] In an earlier post, I discussed a burgeoning Russia/NATO partnership concerning Afghanistan. This agreement, which is being negotiated as we speak at the Bucharest NATO Summit, however, may not come to fruition. Only a day or so ago, Konstantin Kosachev, head of Russia’s State Duma Committee for Foreign Affairs, stated that the agreement was ‘premature’ and articulated further that ‘increasing Russia’s involvement is not expedient today because…this operation is being carried out in the format of a NATO operation.’ […]
April 25th, 2008 at 10:19 am
[…] 1. US/NATO-Kazakhstan Cooperation: NATO’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons recently visited Kazakhstan to discuss the ‘Line Communication‘ project. The project involves the railway transit of non-lethal goods through the territories of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to Afghanistan by NATO forces. Simmons has reported that Russia and NATO exchanged letters that allow transit through Russian territory (as has been discussed on this page) and stated that he received a ‘positive response’ from the Astana’s government regarding their cooperation in the project. Simmons also stated that he was next off to Uzbekistan to cement their cooperation in the project. […]