JRL NEWSWATCH: “Taliban Face Pressure Over New Afghan Government at Russia Conference” – Wall Street Journal
“‘Changes are coming in the government,’ Afghanistan’s interim foreign minister said after talks with Russia, China and other nations”
“… [S]ince the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan … coming up with a strategy for engaging the new leadership in Kabul [reportedly] has become a rising priority for the Kremlin … [even as] Russia officially lists the Taliban as a terrorist group … A key concern … remains preventing Afghanistan from becoming a [terrorist] base …. Russia … fears that a flood of Afghan refugees … could provide cover for Islamist militants …. Moscow has held military exercises in Tajikistan and shored up its hardware capabilities at its 201st military base there … [reportedly] Russia’s largest military facility outside its borders … includ[ing] armored, artillery and reconnaissance units, air defense forces, radiation, chemical and biological protection, and signal-communications troops. A Russia-led security alliance including Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is … currently holding military exercises near the Afghan border in Tajikistan.”