Russia reiterates support to Rabbani

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 22. Russia has reiterated strong support for the opposition government in Afghanistan and come out against giving the Taliban any role in a future political setup in that country.

The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, made a brief stopover in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on his way back from the APEC summit in Shanghai for a pre-dawn meeting with Mr. Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the U.N.-recognised Afghan Government opposed to the Taliban.

``We have confirmed the intention of Russia to continue military- technical assistance to the Islamic State of Afghanistan,'' Mr. Putin said at the end of a tripartite meeting with Mr. Rabbani and the Tajik President, Mr. Emomali Rakhmonov.

Russia's Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov, and the head of the counter-intelligence Federal Security Service, General Nikolai Patrushev, had discussed Russian aid to the anti- Taliban forces with Mr. Rabbani and the military commander of the Northern Alliance, General Mohammed Quassim Fahim, prior to the arrival of Mr. Putin in Dushanbe.

The Russian President also voiced Russia's opposition to the inclusion of the Taliban in a post-war coalition government. ``We think the Taliban has been compromised because of their cooperation with international terrorists,'' he said. ``I think the (Rabbani) Afghan Government has well-grounded reasons to say that the Taliban should not take part in a future government.''

In a joint statement issued after their talks, the leaders of Russia, Tajikistan and Afghanistan called for forming ``a broad- based government'' in Afghanistan that should include ``all ethnic groups.'' They also stressed the need to ``speed up the process of political settlement'' in Afghanistan and give a bigger role to the United Nations and ``all states willing to promote a political solution'' to the Afghan problem.

Moscow's demonstration of emphatic support for the Northern Alliance and rejection of the Taliban in the would be coalition in Afghanistan came clearly in response to Washington's readiness to accommodate ``moderate'' or ``rank-and-file'' elements of the Taliban and reluctance to help the Northern Alliance forces win a strong bargaining position by capturing more territory from the Taliban.

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Section  : International
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