President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies wanted to cooperate with the United States on stabilizing Afghanistan but he appeared to link any help to changes in Western policy.
Saying Moscow and its allies “are ready for full-fledged, comprehensive cooperation,” the Russian leader seemed to imply that Moscow”s help on Afghanistan was contingent on a broader list of changes it wants from the new U.S. administration.
These include a halt to NATO enlargement in Europe and the cancellation of plans for a U.S. missile-defense system on Russia”s western borders.
Medvedev spoke less than a day after Kyrgyzstan got billions in new Russian aid and announced it was evicting the U.S. from an air base key to Afghan operations. His mix of conciliatory language and implicit demand for U.S. concessions may represent a risky attempt to pursue conflicting strategic goals at a moment when U.S. policy on Afghanistan is being remade by President Barack Obama.
Russia has long been irritated by the U.S. military presence in what is considers its natural areas of influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Kremlin is widely believed to be behind the move against the U.S. by Kyrgyzstan”s government, which submitted a draft bill to parliament Wednesday that would close the Manas air base.
But Moscow, which fought its own bloody and unsuccessful 10-year war to control Afghanistan, also does not want the country”s instability spreading north toward Russia. The Kremlin has said it is open to aiding U.S. and NATO efforts in Afghanistan by helping to find alternatives to Pakistani supply lines that are increasingly threatened by militant attacks.
