Reserve Bank of India

Afghanistan applies to join Russia and CIS! What you think about it?

Meeting of the CIS Parliamentary Assembly began in St.Petersburg on April 3-4. Its General Secretary Mikhail Krotov said on the eve of the meeting that Afghanistan was aspiring for membership in the Commonwealth. "Afghani delegations attended three previous meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly and this meeting is not an exception," Krotov said. "Their participation in meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly is of paramount importance for Russia and other CIS countries." Experts say meanwhile that the idea of absorbing Afghanistan into the Commonwealth is not as populist as it may appear at first sight. Its practical realization, however, requires certain efforts. Provided CIS leaders and first and foremost leaders of Russia understand the purpose of this integration correctly, the process may become quite rewarding for all involved parties. "Where Afghanistan is concerned, it needs CIS membership for development of its transport network, revival of economy, and attraction of investments from other CIS states," Dmitry Verkhoturov of Afghanistan.Ru said. Experts point out that absorption of Afghanistan by the Commonwealth will greatly benefit the latter. It will enable the Commonwealth to do away with existence of a thoroughly unstable and problematic buffer zone Afghanistan is. "Buffer zone is an area where interests of world powers collide, it is an area where big-time political games are played. It will disappear with absorption of Afghanistan by the Commonwealth. In fact, the Commonwealth with Afghanistan in it will have a direct border between itself and Pakistan, India, and China. With the buffer zone a thing of the past, everyone will have to seek agreements with all others, and that will pacify the region," to quote Alexander Sobyanin, Chief of the Strategic Planning Service of the Association of Transboundary Cooperation. Experts warn that it is wrong to view expansion of the Commonwealth into Afghanistan as an end in itself. This country should be integrated into the CIS structure, or the Commonwealth will certainly fail and may even find its very existence in jeopardy. "First and foremost, we need a foothold (military included) in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan because we cannot hope to be able to maintain a grip on Afghanistan without it. We should also recognize the fact that what we will never see the money we will be investing into this country. It is necessary to invest in the Afghani elite, in the national education and health care spheres. In short, it is necessary to set up a modernized zone in Afghanistan so as to leave its maintenance to the Afghanis themselves," Sobyanin said. He is convinced that successful integration of Afghanistan into the Commonwealth is impossible without China's support. Membership in the Commonwealth offers new opportunities to Afghanistan itself. First, it will better the chances of integration into regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Eurasian Economic Cooperation Organization. Second, an armed conflict in Central Asia will make it necessary for the regional countries to launch a process of energetic integration even up to establishment of a common state for the purpose of dealing with the common threat. Experts say that there is only one country under whose aegis this integration may take place, and this country is Russia. The Journal of Turkish Weekly – News, Monday , 07 April 2008 http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=54210 Ferghana.Ru , 07.04.2008 http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.canada/browse_thread/thread/a4184325b7e9a4e6 РБК-dayly - 03 апреля 2008 г., Четверг http://www.rbcdaily.ru/2008/04/03/focus/333883

Public Comments

1. Good. Let the Russians try to control that place....Again.
2. One step closer to the Communist partys glorious march over greed and corruption.