India, Russia to have permanent channel to exchange views on Afghanistan

India and Russia will set up a permanent diplomatic channel of communication between the two nations for the exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the unfolding situation in Afghanistan during a phone call on Tuesday. They also discussed the implication of the Taliban’s imminent return to power in Afghanistan for the region and the world.

“They expressed the view that it was important for the two strategic partners to work together and instructed their senior officials to remain in touch,” according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

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Putin’s office in Moscow said that he and Modi agreed to set up a permanent bilateral channel of consultations on the issue of Afghanistan.

India and Russia, along with Iran, Tajikistan and Turkey, had in the 1990s supported the Northern Alliance, a group of warlords, who had fought the Taliban in Afghanistan.

But as the Taliban now appears to be set to return to power in Kabul after the withdrawal of troops by the United States and its NATO allies, Russia has not taken a hardline position on the Sunni Muslim militant organisation. Putin recently stated that the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan was a reality and the international community would have to work with it.

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New Delhi also refrained from publicly criticising the Taliban.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also recently indicated that India had also taken note of the reality of the recent fast-paced developments in Afghanistan.

New Delhi already signalled that it might recognise a new regime in Kabul with participation from the Taliban, if it was an “inclusive dispensation” with the representation of all communities of Afghanistan, respected the aspirations of the children and voices and rights of women and promised not to allow anyone to use the country to export terror to other countries in the region and beyond.

Modi and Putin on Tuesday noted the importance of coordinated efforts by India and Russia for restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, ensuring security in the region as a whole.

They stressed building up cooperation in countering the spread of terrorist ideology and the drug threat emanating from the territory of Afghanistan, according to a press release issued by Kremlin in Moscow.

The Prime Minister had a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday and discussed the “unfolding security situation” in Afghanistan and its implications on the region and the world.

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