"We confirmed the intention of the Russian Federation to continue support to the Islamic State of Afghanistan in the military-technical sphere ... and spoke of concrete plans to give humanitarian aid to the Afghan people," Putin said, using the name of the opposition Afghan government of ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Putin spoke at the end of a previously unannounced, pre-dawn meeting with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmonov and Rabbani, whose government was driven out of Kabul by the Taliban in 1996. Putin's participation highlighted the central role Russia wants to play in determining the makeup of a post-Taliban government.
Meeting separately with Rabbani before the three-sided session in Tajikistan's capital, Putin said Russia recognized his government as legitimate and supported it.
"The internationally recognized government long has been fighting to free its people. Our position (of supporting it) long has been defined," Putin said, according to the Russian ITAR-Tass news agency.
The three leaders issued a joint statement promising to intensify their efforts aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan and the region and providing humanitarian aid to displaced people.
"We hope that in this just fight, with our friends who support us, we will vanquish terrorism," Rabbani said in comments translated into Russian.
Putin stopped in Dushanbe en route to Moscow from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's summit in Shanghai, China. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, and other top ministers who had held meetings in Dushanbe in previous days, including Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, joined him.
Moscow has backed the northern alliance, which is fighting the Taliban and claims to have control over about 10 percent of Afghanistan. Many of the northern alliance's commanders and fighters are ethnic Tajiks and the coalition gets help from Tajikistan.
Russia wants to coordinate its fight against terrorism with countries such as Iran and Tajikistan, which oppose the Taliban.
Iran and Russia oppose allowing so-called Taliban "moderates" into a broad-based coalition being considered to rule Afghanistan if the Taliban regime collapses under U.S.-led attacks.
"We think that the Taliban regime has compromised itself by working with international terrorists and consider the position of the lawfully recognized government of Afghanistan, which says the Taliban should not be included, well-founded," Putin said.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, however, has expressed a willingness to include some rank-and-file Taliban members - if they accept the rights of others. Pakistan, which until the current crisis was the Taliban's closest ally, is pressing for members of the Islamic fundamentalist militia to be included.
Tajikistan, which shares a 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) volatile border with Afghanistan, has attracted growing attention both as a possible launch pad for military attacks and the most convenient place to marshal humanitarian efforts.
About 25,000 Russian troops are stationed in the former Soviet republic to help guard the border - and Putin stressed the importance of having an Afghan government that would promote stability in the region and, not least, be friendly to Moscow.
"The goal of the Russian Federation, the goal of the Russian Federation's policy in this region and in relation to Afghanistan, is the creation of a situation in the country in which the Afghan people can have the possibility of deciding their fate themselves, to start a peaceful life and to build a state that would be friendly to its neighbors including the Russian Federation," Putin said.
Rakhmonov on Monday hailed the effort to help Afghan refugees, saying that up to 10 planes a day and some trains were now bringing humanitarian supplies to his country for distribution in Afghanistan.
NSP Lista isprobava demokratiju u praksi
==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrBE8.bVKZIq Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
