Tajikistan requests Russian Military Assistance against the Taliban

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Jul 2021 by Alex Teddy
On July 8 the Tajiks invoked its right as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to seek military assistance. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan. The US pullout from Afghanistan will be complete by September 11 2021.Tajikistan is alarmed by the rapid advance of the Taliban. Tajikistan is very mountainous and its terrain would suit the Taliban. Over 1,000 Afghan troops have fled the Taliban and sought refuge in Tajikistan. There are already 6,000 Russian troops in Tajikistan. The Uzbeks and Turkmens are refusing to let Afghan refugees in. This is to force them to fight the Taliban. Moreover, the government suspects that Taliban infiltrators may pose as anti-Taliban. Some Afghans are ethnic Tajiks. The Taliban would like to gain control of Tajikistan and other countries, and in the 1990s they attempted it: Tajikistan had a civil war that the secularists were only able to win with massive Russian and Kazakh military assistance. It is possible that other CSTO members will deploy troops in Tajikistan. These are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus. These last two will be particularly keen to curry favor with Russia as they are more dependent on her largesse than ever. Only July 8 the Russian Foreign Minister reaffirmed that his country shall honor its commitment to Tajikistan. He said that Russia would even consider sending troops to Afghanistan. Russia said that 70% of the 1,400 km Afghan-Tajik Border is under Taliban control. Tajikistan cannot possibly seal such a border on its own. Russia will probably not station troops in Afghanistan although retaliatory raids might occur. If the USSR and NATO could not defeat the Taliban and its predecessors, th...

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