NEW DELHI: As it treads on Afghanistan cautiously, India will have consecutive opportunities next month to commit to the evolving situation with Russia and China, two protagonists of the war-torn country after the departure of the USA. Although the Brics summit will take place virtually on September 9, Tajikistan will host the SCO summit a week later, on September 17.
The security situation in Afghanistan is likely to dominate the agenda for the SCO meeting and will also feature prominently at the Brics virtual meeting, where leaders are expected to express concern over the deterioration of the security environment. India considers terrorism to be the key focus area of SCO and has used the forum to seek an end to terrorist financing.
Government sources said India will use both meetings to highlight its concerns about the use of Afghan territory as a platform for launching terrorist acts in the region. India believes that terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are active in Afghanistan with the intention of Pakistan.
SCO cooperation is considered crucial to suppress the spread of terrorist, separatist and extremist ideologies and also to strengthen the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of other countries. India considers the commitment to Russia to address security challenges coming from Afghanistan important, and expects its views to receive a receptive hearing. Recently, the two countries agreed to establish a mechanism to deal with the threat of terrorism and drugs from Afghanistan.
While Russian special envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has been quoted as saying India has no influence with the Taliban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said it is important to incorporate India. and Iran in efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan.
While Russia and China appear interested in working with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the two have also expressed concerns similar to those of India on the issue of terrorism. In a telephone conversation last week, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed their willingness to intensify efforts to combat threats of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghan territory.
They also spoke of the “importance of establishing peace” in Afghanistan and “preventing the spread of instability in adjacent regions.” However, China’s concerns are more related to the activities of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement that is active in Xinjiang.
The security situation in Afghanistan is likely to dominate the agenda for the SCO meeting and will also feature prominently at the Brics virtual meeting, where leaders are expected to express concern over the deterioration of the security environment. India considers terrorism to be the key focus area of SCO and has used the forum to seek an end to terrorist financing.
Government sources said India will use both meetings to highlight its concerns about the use of Afghan territory as a platform for launching terrorist acts in the region. India believes that terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are active in Afghanistan with the intention of Pakistan.
SCO cooperation is considered crucial to suppress the spread of terrorist, separatist and extremist ideologies and also to strengthen the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of other countries. India considers the commitment to Russia to address security challenges coming from Afghanistan important, and expects its views to receive a receptive hearing. Recently, the two countries agreed to establish a mechanism to deal with the threat of terrorism and drugs from Afghanistan.
While Russian special envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has been quoted as saying India has no influence with the Taliban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said it is important to incorporate India. and Iran in efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan.
While Russia and China appear interested in working with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the two have also expressed concerns similar to those of India on the issue of terrorism. In a telephone conversation last week, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed their willingness to intensify efforts to combat threats of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghan territory.
They also spoke of the “importance of establishing peace” in Afghanistan and “preventing the spread of instability in adjacent regions.” However, China’s concerns are more related to the activities of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement that is active in Xinjiang.