Putin to seek joint action with India against Taliban

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 2. The impressive military gains of the Taliban forces on the border with Tajikistan have rattled Russia and given a new urgency to its President, Mr. Vladimir Putin's current visit to India.

Mr. Putin, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday night on a four-day visit, was expected to have brought concrete proposals to the Indian leadership on joint moves to prevent the Taliban from asserting unchallenged control over Afghanistan. Such an outcome is viewed in Moscow as fraught with catastrophic consequences for former Soviet Central Asia, Russia's soft underbelly.

After a series of meetings in the Kremlin on the situation in Afghanistan last week, Moscow appears to have opted for a three- pronged plan to meet the Taliban threat. It will push for greater international pressure on the Taliban, open a political dialogue with the Taliban and increase military aid to the Northern Alliance led by Ahmed Shah Masood.

Mr. Sergei Ivanov, Kremlin security chief, told the Russian state television last night that Moscow could call for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan. Russia maintained unofficial contact with the Taliban in the framework of the six-plus-two group on Afghanistan.

Last week, Mr. Putin's special envoy visited Islamabad to persuade Pakistan to rein in the Taliban. Uzbekistan, target of ethnic Uzbek extremists based in Afghanistan, was reported to have held talks with the Taliban in Pakistani territory today. Moscow and its Central Asian allies are trying to secure guarantees that the Taliban would not support Islamic insurgencies in Central Asia and to push for a coalition government in Afghanistan.

However, Russian leaders are sceptical of diplomatic and political measures. ``I don't think it is a realistic scenario for the near future to expect Taliban hordes to sweep down on Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other states, but the Taliban has posed a threat for the past several years, with small

groups of terrorists from Afghanistan infiltrating Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyzgyzstan in an attempt to destabilise the situation in Central Asia,'' Mr. Ivanov said. ``It is not a classic aggression from World War II textbooks. It's a creeping aggression, but is no less dangerous for that.''

On Saturday, Mr. Putin vowed to prevent the fighting in Afghanistan ``from spilling over into the former Soviet Union.'' The only way to do it is to make sure that the Northern Alliance continues to act as a buffer between the Taliban and Central Asian states.

On Sunday, Mr. Ivanov said Masood's forces ``launched a successful counter offensive yesterday on Taliban positions.'' No such attack would be possible without new military aid to the Alliance. Reports in the Russian media suggested Moscow was probably ready to help Masood not only with arms but with manpower. ``There is no other way to prevent the Taliban from capturing Badakhshan, as increasingly more commanders of the Northern Alliance are surrendering to the enemy sensing an early defeat,'' the Gazeta.ru online newspaper said today.

Mr. Putin hopes Russia and India, which repeatedly accused Taliban militants of involvement in Kashmir insurgency, can work together to contain the Taliban. On the eve of his visit to India, he said the two countries could effectively combat international terrorism and religious extremism by pooling their efforts through ``informational exchanges, political support and joint decision-making on any manifestation of extremism.''

For Moscow, New Delhi's response to its proposal of joint action on Afghanistan will be the first test of strategic partnership the two countries are to formalise during Mr. Putin's visit.

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