Last week, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Ahmad Masood, together with the former Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullo Saleh, visited Moscow with an official delegation. Analysts expressed their opinion on the results of the visit.
In the State Duma, Masood held a meeting with the chairman of the “Fair Russia – For Truth” party, Sergei Mironov, during which the political situation in Afghanistan and possible ways to resolve it were discussed.
Mironov said that “Afghanistan should by no means become the arena of any geopolitical aspirations of third countries and the people of the country themselves should determine their future."
According to Ahmad Masood, the political situation has only worsened during the rule of the Taliban. Terrorist organizations and drug trafficking are flourishing in the country, and the rights of the population are being infringed.
Sergey Mironov expressed support to the official guest on behalf of his party and announced his intention to hold a round table in the State Duma this autumn with the participation of Ahmad Masood. It will be dedicated to the problems of Afghanistan.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in an explanation of Masood's visit, said that although Russia maintains relations with the current rulers of Afghanistan without officially recognizing the Taliban government, at the same time calls on the current rulers of Kabul and representatives of ethnic minorities of this war-torn country to engage in dialogue with a view to creating a truly inclusive government.
Analysts write that Masood's visit to Russia caused outrage among representatives of the Taliban government.
An expert on Afghanistan, Andrei Serenko, referring to his sources, wrote in his telegram channel that “they (meaning the Taliban leadership, – ed.) are still shocked and furious at this news, the Taliban leaders clearly did not expect such a move from Moscow.”
Sources suggest that “the Taliban will ask very unpleasant questions to the special representative of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, who, according to rumors, promised them a completely different attitude from the Kremlin.”
“Now the participation of Taliban representatives in the Moscow format meeting on the Afghan settlement, which is to be held in Kazan on September 29, is in question,” one of Serenko's sources said.
According to one of the Afghan politicians who lives abroad, he called Masood's visit to Moscow “a slap in the face to the Taliban” and noted that “the Taliban can now create problems in the activities of the Russian embassy in Kabul."
However, no representative of Taliban has yet officially expressed his opinion on Masood's visit to Moscow.
In the publication “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” Andrei Serenko wrote that Masood's acceptance in the State Duma and his meetings with Russian politicians can be called the process of Moscow's official recognition of the National Resistance Front.
This analyst writes that the Kremlin realized that cooperation with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and the Liberation Front of Afghanistan is important for ensuring security in Tajikistan, where there is a Russian military base.
“Therefore, with the political and military support of these two fronts, Moscow can put pressure on Taliban. On the other hand, the Taliban's economic dependence on America has forced Moscow to reconsider its policy towards this group,” Serenko added.
Sergey Danilov, deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said in an interview with “Present Time” on this occasion that the visit was made “in order to get resources, raise your stakes, show that it exists, and in order for Moscow to show that it is in the game.”
“Moscow's game in Central Asia, in Afghanistan after the invasion of Ukraine has become less effective and more modest. However, the Russians are trying to show that they are still participants in the process, can moderate something or give symbolic capital. This visit is primarily symbolic capital for Masood, for the son of Ahmad Shah Masood, and at the same time an indicator that Taliban as such are no longer important partners for them,” Danilov believes.
Recall that Ahmad Masood, the son of the national hero of Afghanistan Ahmadshah Masood, in mid-August 2021, after Taliban seized power in Kabul, went to Panjshir, the homeland of his ancestors and established the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. The forces that did not recognize the radical rule of the Taliban united around this front.
At the end of October, the front opened its representative office in the United States to convince American politicians to support the opposition of the current government of Afghanistan. At the same time, it was reported about the opening of the front office in Dushanbe, but representatives of the opposition forces denied this information.
In the last two years, Ahmad Masood has been trying to create an alliance among anti-Taliban leaders.
