Russia aims to spur Afghan region economy, win aid
* Medvedev sees trans-border projects with Afghanistan
* Says they are needed to help the region recover
* Afghan, Pakistani, Tajik leaders vow security cooperation
(Recasts, updates with four-way meeting, adds quotes)
By Roman Kozhevnikov and Anastasia Onegina
DUSHANBE, July 30 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday brought together the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and their neighbour Tajikistan to try and spur regional economic recovery and attract huge aid flows.
Medvedev said he, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari discussed trade and cross-border projects at their second meeting in less then two months now joined by the Tajik leader.
Russia is reluctant to get involved in military efforts in Afghanistan after its own 10-year experience of a failed 1980s invasion but still seeks a role in settling the conflict.
Russia views ex-Soviet Central Asia as a traditional sphere of interests and has always been sensitive to instability the Afghan conflict may cause in the region. Drug traffic and Islamic radicalism stemming from Afghanistan also pose security threats for it.
Drawing together regional powers affected by the Afghan conflict is seen by the Kremlin as a priority.
"We have a common space, which should be filled with all sorts of projects," Medvedev said in the Tajik capital after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
"We were talking about energy projects, railway projects," he told a news conference after talks also attended by Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon.
Medvedev did detail the projects discussed, but said Russia, a member of G8 and G20 clubs of leading economies, would lobby for their international financing.
"I believe that huge sums allocated by the international community -- altogether making trillions of dollars -- should go for such aims," he said.
Cooperation on Afghanistan has become a key scene for attempts by Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama to repair thorny relations between the world's two biggest nuclear powers.
Russia and its Central Asian allies have approved the massive transit of military supplies to U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan through their territory.
Medvedev hosted the first meeting of Karzai and Zardari in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in June. Adding Afghan neighbour Tajikistan to the talks was aimed to give Afghan-Pakistani contacts a broader regional context.
"This meeting...is the first important step in the direction of better understanding," Karzai told the news conference. "Afghanistan...welcomes this and will participate in that wholly."
"The people of Afghanistan, the people of Pakistan and the people of this region are looking up to the leadership of the region to help them with problems," Zardari added.
SECURITY CONCERNS
Pakistan and Central Asian states worry that the escalating war in Afghanistan spreads Islamic radicalism to the neighbouring regions threatening their fragile peace.
Central Asian officials say recent attacks in Central Asia were orchestrated by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a Taliban-linked group headed by Takhir Yuldashev, Central Asia's most wanted man.
But human rights groups suggest that governments in Central Asia, which is divided between five authoritarian nations, have exaggerated the problem and use it as an excuse to crush political dissent.
Security cooperation was a key issue of separate talks Rakhmon had with Zardari and Karzai earlier on Thursday.
"The three states have expressed enthusiasm to cooperate in fighting against all threats and challenges like terrorism and all its manifestations: separatism, extremism and organised crime," a joint statement from the Afghan, Tajik and Pakistan presidents said.
(Editing by Ron Askew) (Writing by Oleg Shchedrov and Maria Golovnina)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Follow Reuters