Russia Warns against Relocation of US Bases after Afghan Pullout
Russia has warned the United States against a possible relocation of its military facilities to Central Asia, as the Pentagon is advancing a final withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told the RIA news agency that Washington cannot and should not transform the withdrawal into the relocation of its military facilities to Central Asia.
“We have already sent such a signal to Washington at various levels. I hope it will be heard,” Kabulov said.
He also urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to establish a coalition government, saying that “the final decision on the configuration and parameters of the future power structure should be made by Afghans themselves.”
Regarding peace talks between the Taliban and Kabul, Kabulov said, “We do not rule out the convening of its next round in the near future.”
Peace talks between the Taliban and Kabul, facilitated by a US-Taliban deal in Doha last year, had made “very little progress” and were happening at a “very slow pace,” Abdullah Abdullah, head of Kabul’s High Council for National Reconciliation, told CNN on Thursday.