Trump's Afghan approach favors Russia, analysts claim

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

Russian analysts have told Anadolu Agency that U.S. President Donald Trump’s new strategy on Afghanistan favors Moscow.

Trump announced on Monday the U.S. would not commit to any timetable to end its military presence in Afghanistan where it has been bogged down for the better part of two decades.

The U.S. has about 8,400 troops in the country, and Trump's comments made it clear there would be no indications about future modifications to the American forces.

Alexander Khramchikhin, director of the Moscow-based Institute for Political and Military Analysis, told Anadolu Agency this week that the longer the U.S. remains in Afghanistan, the better it is for Russia.

"Because if they pull out, the group they retain will become more intense. I mean al-Qaeda, ISIS [Daesh], Taliban and we, Russia, will have to deal with them. Now, the U.S. exempts us from this duty," Khramchikhin said.

Yury Barmin, a MENA expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, said the U.S. would contribute to the stability of Afghanistan, where Moscow does not have a military presence.

"The U.S. army distracts the militants, who are especially trying to leak into Central Asia. That is why relative stability in the region favors Russia," Barmin said.

However, Barmin added if the U.S. remained in the area in the long-term, then there would be the risk of new clashes.

"For Russia, the Taliban is not the biggest threat in Afghanistan. The progression of Daesh in the region is the biggest problem for Moscow and it is not clear yet whether the U.S. will prevent this problem," he said.

Sharbatullo Sodikov, a researcher at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said: "I understand why Trump has made this decision. From Afghanistan, the United States can control a very extensive territory."

Sodikov said Washington did not want to lose such a "convenient jumping-off place" like Afghanistan.

"Well, if you remember, the U.S. was involved in the creation of some groups that have now been declared as terrorist," he added.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, ousting the Taliban after it gave sanctuary to now deceased al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

However, recent years have seen the Taliban and other armed groups grow in strength as the U.S.-backed central government in Kabul struggles to assert its authority across the country it nominally controls.

Trump said the U.S. would continue its cooperation with Kabul "as long as we see determination and progress", but warned American support "is not a blank check".

Reporting y Elena Teslova; Writing by Diyar Guldogan