With the continued US withdrawal from Afghanistan , and the search for practical solutions to continue its intelligence operations against the Taliban, Washington received an unexpected offer from the Russians to use its foreign bases.
The Kremlin has offered Washington the use of its military bases in Central Asia to gather intelligence from Afghanistan.
President Vladimir Putin made it clear that he presented the proposal during the summit meeting with President Joe Biden, which was held in Geneva last month, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
Also, Putin suggested that the United States use military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to collect information, including through drones launched across the border, according to sources who spoke to the newspaper “Kommersant”.
An ambiguous political and military situation
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the withdrawal of the United States and NATO from Afghanistan made the political and military situation more uncertain, which in turn exacerbated the terrorist threat in the region.
Speaking at a conference with senior Central Asian officials in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Lavrov said Russia wanted to help start peace talks between the warring parties in Afghanistan.
Afghan soldiers during a military mission against the Taliban in Kandahar (Reuters)
Russia threatens the Taliban
Last Wednesday, the Director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Zamir Kabulov, stressed that any attempt by the Taliban to harm the security of Russia’s allies in the Central Asian region would be fraught with great losses for the movement.
The Russian official explained that his country is closely monitoring the situation, threatening the Taliban that any attempt to harm the security of Moscow’s allies in Central Asia will be fraught with great losses for them.
It is noteworthy that the largest foreign base of Russia is located in Tajikistan and has a strength of six thousand soldiers. Russia also has a smaller base in Kyrgyzstan, about 500 miles from the Afghan border.
