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Russia Bolsters Afghan Opposition
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan,
Oct 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Russia, the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan and the Afghan opposition Northern Alliance have signed a joint statement pledging to find a political solution in Afghanistan, news agencies reported.
The statement followed talks in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, between Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmonov and the ousted President of Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads the Northern Alliance, BBC's online news service reported.
Putin voiced strong support for the Northern Alliance. He promised that Russia would provide military, technical and humanitarian help for what he called Afghanistan's "legitimate" government.
Moscow has assisted the anti-Taliban alliance for many years. However, it is unusual to hear such an open statement that Moscow wants a friendly government in Kabul, according to BBC.
Moscow appears to be at odds with what the leadership in Pakistan has said it wants - and Pakistan is now a key regional ally of the United States.
The three leaders said that, "all the ethnic groups should take part in forming the next Afghan government." They called for a stronger role for the United Nations "and all foreign governments" in stabilizing Afghanistan, news agencies reported.
Putin arrived in Tajikistan from Shanghai, where he and U.S. President George Bush declared that Washington and Russia were building a new relationship.
The BBC said the occasion in Dushanbe was full of symbolism, with the three leaders sitting together under their respective national flags.
President Rahmonov at one point referred to Rabbani as the president of Afghanistan.
They were later joined by the military leader of the Northern Alliance, General Mohammad Qassim Fahim. Putin called him the "Afghan minister of defense" - apparently not by accident, BBC said.
Putin ruled out any role for the Taliban in a future government, saying they were "linked with international terrorists".
On Sunday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said, following top-level talks in the Tajik capital, Russia is set to forge closer links with Iran and Tajikistan to form a common front against the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The aim of this increased cooperation is not only "to fight against the pure evil which is terrorism", but also "against the other threats represented by the Taliban," said Ivanov.
He said these included "genocide against the Afghan people, the destruction of [Afghanistan's] national heritage and drug trafficking," which were destabilizing the Central Asia region, AFP reported.
In Islamabad, foreign diplomats have intensified their efforts for the establishment of broad-based multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
The ambassadors of France, Libya and Saudi Arabia held separate meetings with the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef, at his residence and discussed with him matters relating to relief aid for Afghan refugees and the establishment of broad-based government in Afghanistan, IRNA reported.
The ambassador of France told Zaeef that his country would cooperate with the international community and supply relief assistance to Afghan refugees. He discussed the role of former monarch Zahir Shah with Mulla Zaeef and explained his role in Afghanistan's future broad-based government.
The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Libya, while expressing grief and sympathizing with Mulla Zaeef over the killing of innocent citizens during U.S.-led bombing in Afghanistan, said that U.S. strikes should be short and targeted and not aimed at innocent Afghan people.
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