Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has voiced his country’s disapproval of Donald Trump’s military surge in Afghanistan.
Lavrov has stated,
“The main emphasis in the new strategy, which was announced by Washington, is made on settlement through use of force. We believe that it’s a dead-end approach”.
He continued,
“If I’ve got the new US strategy right, it allows contacts with the Taliban without them fulfilling any conditions at all.
I don’t think that it goes in line with our joint interest to follow the negotiated, coordinated line which is approved by the UN Security Council. But I hope that within the framework of the expert-level contacts we have with our American colleagues, we will be able to clarify this apparent contradiction.
We maintain the contacts with the Taliban exactly in accordance with these criteria, urging them to comply with these UN Security Council demands”.
Lavrov revealed Trump’s strategy to be what Russia considers the worst of all possible options. Under the Trump plan US troops with arrive in large numbers to fight both the Taliban and the Taliban’s opponents in ISIS, all the while leaving the door open for negotiations with Taliban forces who are simulations under US bombardment. It is a plan fraught with contradictions which do not have any logical resolution.
Russia maintains a policy of military de-escalation in the country that seeks to work with moderate Taliban rebels who are willing to engage in a peace process with the existing regime in Kabul. This plan is broadly similar to that endorsed by China and Pakistan.
The post LAVROV: Trump Afghanistan policy a “dead end” appeared first on The Duran.