Russia could establish bases in Afghanistan to repair military hardware as NATO winds down its mission in the war-torn country.
Sergey Koshelev, a deput head of Russia’s Defense Ministry, said that “it is important to maintain the weapon systems and military equipment of the Afghan Armed Forces in a serviceable state,” according to the New Europe website.
“Any escalation of the situation in Afghanistan after NATO troops pull out in 2014 could have a negative impact on the security of both Russia and other European nations,” he added.
When the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan in the 80s, hundreds of thousands of people were killed. During the end of the occupation in 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev described Afghanistan’s insurgency as a “bleeding wound,” according to Foreign Policy.
The Russian MP for defense, Sergey Zhigarev, said that now, the “[Russia-NATO cooperation] is a positive moment.”
“The coalition was breaking there for 13 years. We remember very well the situation our troops found themselves in at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. This is why the stabilization in Afghanistan is very important for us,” he added.
However, it is not clear if Russia wants to establish military bases. New Europe reported that in February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia will not deploy military forces in dangerous areas.
“We will not be fighting for our positions…and creating ‘another Afghanistan’ for ourselves. Never, under no circumstances,” he said.
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