Although the neighboring states of Afghanistan, especially China and Russia, have improved their relations with the Taliban Government, they have not yet recognized this government. It is seen that the states of the region act collectively on the Taliban issue. In this context, Afghanistan’s neighbors came together at the level of Foreign Ministers, first hosted by Pakistan and then by Iran. The third of these meetings was held in Tonşi, hosted by China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Foreign Ministers Meeting hosted by Pakistan as a special guest and gave a speech about China’s relationship with the Islamic World at the meeting. Afterwards, Wang visited Kabul and met with Taliban officials. During the meeting, Wang invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, Emirhan Muttaki, to the meeting to be hosted by China. In addition to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Iran and China, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Qatar and Indonesia also attended the meeting. In addition to these, the Extended Troika Meeting consisting of China, Russia, the United States of America (USA) and Pakistan’s Special Representatives for Afghanistan was held, hosted by China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter to the meeting and conveyed the messages about Beijing’s Afghanistan policy to the parties. In the letter, he stated that for a bright future in Afghanistan, the country’s neighbors should try to support the Afghan people and that a peaceful, stable and developing Afghanistan would be in the interests of the region and the world. Along with this, Xi stated that Afghanistan is moving towards a stable order and Beijing will respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and will support the stability and development of the country in question.[1]
The most striking issues at the meeting were the statements of the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran. In his speech, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that his country gave accreditation to a diplomat appointed by the Taliban Government and said that he was concerned that other terrorist organizations, especially the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), would first pass to Central Asian states and then to Russia. However, he stated that the strong trade and economic relationship between the Taliban and the regional states would pave the way for recognition, and said that the neighboring states of Afghanistan should not give military bases to the USA and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).[2]
Iranian Foreign Minister Emir Abdullahiyan expressed his concerns about ISIS’s activities in Afghanistan and stated that the regional states should act jointly against terrorism and that a special unit should be established in this regard.[3]
A joint statement was also published after the meeting. In the declaration, it was emphasized that the way to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan is through political dialogue, inclusive government, moderate domestic and foreign policy, and friendly relations with all states, especially neighboring states.
In addition, it was pointed out in the declaration that the talks with the Taliban should be increased and the states responsible for the developments in Afghanistan should play a role in solving the problem. In the declaration, the Taliban was not mentioned, and the protection of the rights of the Afghan people was mentioned. The attendees of the meeting stated that they are against the politicization of humanitarian aid and that Afghanistan should be given a central role in the distribution of aid. Finally, the parties stated that they would support the economic development of this country and mentioned the need for Afghanistan to focus on the fight against terrorism.[4]
Afghanistan’s neighbors, especially Russia and China, stated that the rapid withdrawal of the USA from Afghanistan led to further destabilization of the country. Accordingly, the West has failed in Afghanistan and has deepened the problem far from solving it. Although the states participating in the meeting have different interests in Afghanistan, it can be argued that they have similar concerns about the instability of the country. In this context, it can be said that China has political and economic goals in Afghanistan.
Iran, Russia and China are the states that are happiest with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Therefore, they welcomed the Taliban and continued their relations with the Taliban by not closing their embassies in Kabul. However, the international community does not recognize the Taliban Government, although it sends humanitarian aid materials and money to Afghanistan, and this situation exposes the Afghan people to hunger and humanitarian crisis.
Russia and China, as significant rivals of the West, are trying to fill the power vacuum in Afghanistan by reconciling with the Taliban without waiting for the West, with the logic of “May the snake which doesn’t bite me live for a thousand years!”. In other words, these two states are trying to show their power to the world by making the Taliban accept certain demands of the international community.
China and Russia, like Western states, do not see human rights, democracy and nation-building issues as a tool of foreign policy and do not place much emphasis on these issues in the context of Afghanistan. Indeed, by visiting Kabul, the Chinese Foreign Minister made it clear that China would not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and would respect its sovereignty.
Russia, on the other hand, believes that it has avenged the Soviet Union by failing the United States through the Taliban. Moreover, while Russia was fighting the West on the Ukrainian front; He wants to prevent the opening of the terrorist front in Afghanistan. Therefore, despite the objections of the international community, Moscow establishes relations with the Taliban in a way that means “De Facto Recognition” and accepts the diplomat appointed by the Taliban and encourages other states to establish diplomatic relations with the Taliban. According to Russia, there is no force in Afghanistan to balance the Taliban. Therefore, the Moscow administration, which gives certain privileges to the Taliban, tries to maximize its interests in this way.
One of Beijing’s requests from the Taliban is to distance itself and fight against organizations that will pose a threat to China’s national security and territorial integrity, especially ISIS. Because while the activities of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan pose a direct threat to China; On the other hand, it harms China’s economic interests. This makes it difficult to identify the Taliban. Instead of deploying troops to Afghanistan, the Beijing administration learned lessons from the experiences of the Soviet Union and the United States; it focused on securing its interests through the Taliban. For this reason, the President of China, expressing that the chaos in Afghanistan is evolving towards a stable order, defines the presence of the USA in Afghanistan as a period of chaos and describes the Taliban as an actor that maintains order.
Another target of China is the mines of Afghanistan. Because Beijing government needs raw materials to sustain its growing economy. In this context, China is trying to achieve maximum economic gain by including Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The dominance of the Taliban, which has close relations with Pakistan, in Afghanistan is an opportunity for China to achieve its economic goals. In this context, it is known that Chinese companies held talks with the Taliban about operating the Afghanistan mines and started to import copper in accordance with the agreement made during the deposed regime. In addition, China is planning to solve the problems that prevent the implementation of the said project through the Taliban by including the Taliban in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Chinese President’s statement that “a stable and developing Afghanistan will be in the interests of the region and the world” should also be read from this framework.
In addition to not recognizing the Taliban, the USA blocked Afghanistan’s national reserves and imposed sanctions on some Taliban leaders. Moreover, the Washington administration suspended talks with the Taliban. Therefore, the Taliban give up hope from the West and turn its direction to the regional states, especially China and Russia. For this reason, the Taliban think that can get closer with Russia and China. The Taliban should be recognized by the regional states, especially China and Russia, to receive assistance from these states to overcome the humanitarian crisis, to eliminate the sanctions demanded by the West in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) through Russia and China, and to invest in their national reserves through these countries. It aims to create an international public opinion at the point of removing the American blockade against it. For these purposes, the Taliban promises that they will not allow the territory of Afghanistan to be used against any state in order to gain the support of neighboring states.
As a result, Afghanistan’s neighbors, especially China and Russia, do not officially recognize the Taliban and develop de facto cooperation. However, the withdrawal of the USA from Afghanistan offered some opportunities to regional actors. China and Russia are also trying to seize these opportunities. However, the current situation also brings with it various threats. China and Russia consider terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, immigration and economic and humanitarian problems in Afghanistan and seek ways to prevent the destabilization of the country. It is understood that the mentioned states prefer to draw Afghanistan to the ground of cooperation instead of isolating Afghanistan from the world.
[1] “چین بر نقش کشورهای همسایه در حمایت از افغانستان تأکید کرد”, Afganistan Internitional, https://www.afintl.com/202203317417, (Date of Accession: 02.04.2022).
[2] “نگرانی روسیه درباره نفوذ اسلامگرایان از طریق افغانستان به آسیای مرکزی”, Ufuqnews, https://ufuqnews.com/archives/198651, (Date of Accession: 02.04.2022).
[3] “عبداللهیان با ابراز نگرانی از فعالیت داعش در افغانستان، خواستار ایجاد کارشیوه خاص برای مبارزه با تروریسم شد”, 8am, https://8am.af/commenting-on-isils-activities-in-afghanistan-abdullahian-called-for-a-special-counter-terrorism-campaign/, (Date of Accession: 02.04.2022).
[4] “همسایهگان افغانستان: دستیابی به آشتی ملی از طریق گفتوگو و ایجاد ساختار سیاسی فراگیر ممکن است”, 8am, https://8am.af/afghanistans-neighbors-achieving-national-reconciliation-is-possible-through-dialogue-and-the-establishment-of-an-inclusive-political-structure/, (Date of Accession: 02.04.2022).
