Ghani discusses Daesh threat to region with Russian envoy 

President Ashraf Ghani met with Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov in Kabul on Monday where regional security and the fight against terrorism was discussed. 

Ghani said at the meeting that the “struggle of the Afghan government and people against ISIS (Daesh) and terrorism is an exceptional struggle and that our people have made many sacrifices for the security of the region and the world”.

He stated that Afghanistan and Russia have a common vision in the fight against terrorism and that actions taken against Daesh by the Afghan government “have been comprehensive and fruitful”.

He also said that Afghanistan was taking serious steps against Central Asian terrorist groups but added that the issue around drugs was a serious threat to both countries and to the region.

 A message from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was meanwhile delivered at the meeting, where he congratulated Ghani on Afghanistan’s 101st anniversary of independence. 

August 19 marks the day the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 was signed – relinquishing Afghanistan from protected state status.

 The treaty granted a complete neutral relation between Afghanistan and Britain after Afghanistan became a British protectorate after it was defeated in the Second Anglo-Afghan War that ended in 1880. 

In Putin’s message to Ghani, the Russian leader also expressed his satisfaction over friendly relations between the two countries and, according to the Presidential Palace, said that he was “confident that constructive bilateral cooperation in various fields would be further expanded”.

Putin also reportedly said that the fight again terrorism and the drug threat was in the best interests of the people of both countries and that this action “strengthens regional stability and security”.

Ghani meanwhile also highlighted the importance of trade relations between the two countries and reiterated the importance for Afghanistan of its exports to Russia, especially that of fruit.

In line with this, Ghani appealed to Putin to support and invest in the Afghan railway system. 

According to Canada’s Geopoliticalmonitor.com, Russia has since the mid-1990s steadily developed ties with major factions of Afghanistan, including the Taliban. 

In more recent years, Russia has initiated dialogue and negotiations around the Afghan peace process. However, intelligence experts have stated that Russia’s “concern over growing ISIS-Khorasan (Daesh) activities in Afghanistan is understandable”.

According to a Geopoliticalmonitor.com article late last year, Russia has long considered Central Asia as its backyard and would be eager to see a situation where the US and NATO footprint in Afghanistan is reduced.