RIA NOVOSTI INTERVIEW WITH FIRST DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER VYACHESLAV TRUBNIKOV, CO-CHAIRMAN OF THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN WORKING GROUP ON THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TERRORISM, ON THE CURRENT SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN

Question: In the autumn, Afghanistan is going to adopt a new constitution. How do you assess the current situation in that country in the context of operations conducted there by forces of the anti-terrorist coalition?

Answer: Against the backdrop of military operations in Iraq, topics dealing with Afghanistan have taken a back seat in the mass media, and very much so. But from the point of view of geopolitics, Afghanistan has lost none of its significance both for the anti-terrorist coalition and for its neighbours.

Today the Taliban in Afghanistan are actively regrouping their forces. Signs of such a regrouping are the increasingly frequent and well-organised instances of shooting at and attacking units of coalition forces and units of the international stability assistance force, and representatives of non-governmental and international organisations. Evidence of that is the assassination of a Red Cross representative, and losses by coalition forces as a result of night assaults and missile attacks. All this is an indicator of the fact that the Taliban remain a force which calls for constant attention on the part of the West, for consistent pressure on them, both military and political.

As for the success rate of operations carried out in Afghanistan by the anti-terrorist coalition, it is not very high as yet. Since the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation the Taliban and the remnants of Al-Qaeda members have managed to adapt themselves to the conditions imposed on them, developed a tactic of waging guerrilla warfare, learned to play on contradictions between field commanders and to take advantage of certain missteps by the provisional administration of Afghanistan. Especially alarming is the situation developing in southern and southeastern Afghanistan - areas which adjoin Pakistan.

Question: Pakistan has historically played a substantial role in the political, economic and social spheres of Afghanistan. How are its positions on the Afghan stage assessed today?

Answer: It ought to be said that measures being taken on the part of Pakistan cannot but disquiet the present administration of Afghanistan led by Hamid Karzai. This is connected above all with the fact that the so-called Durand line, which Afghanistan has never recognised, is being manned by Pakistani border posts. One may put different interpretations on the moves by the Pakistani side. It may be an attempt de facto to establish a border along the line, or an attempt to exert pressure on the Karzai administration so that it would take Pakistan's interests more fully into account than those of some other participants in the anti-terrorist coalition and Afghanistan's neighbours. Islamabad is also putting excessive emphasis on the development of ties between the Karzai administration and India. The relations between India and Afghanistan are traditionally good and well-developed. And it is not surprising at all that India seeks to take part in the economic rehabilitation of Afghanistan and does so in a very consistent and transparent manner. So attempts by certain circles in Pakistan to use Afghanistan in its game with India are already raising concerns not only in Russia, but also among other members of the anti-terrorist coalition.

Question: What is Moscow's attitude to Afghanistan's reforms and what does it think of their future?

Answer: Russia fully supports the Karzai administration and is for its unity. Unfortunately, attempts are still continuing to divide Afghanistan's leadership and members of the administration into Pandsher men, implying leaders of the former Northern Alliance - Marshal Fahim and those around him - and the rest. The emphasis is put on proportionate ethnic representation. Proportionate representation is theoretically possible and correct, but in practice it would mean a return of Taliban power, since until now the system of security in Afghanistan has been maintained across the country mainly by fighting units of the former Northern Alliance and, in Kabul, by an international security assistance force. However, the process of creating national armed forces designed to replace armed formations of field commanders and thus to strengthen central authority in the regions is proceeding with difficulty and requires considerable financial injections. Besides, this process all the time comes up against an acute social problem - those outside a national army remain without jobs. So ambitious plans to disarm tens of thousands of armed men with no jobs available, or in the absence of a civilian alternative, meet with neither understanding nor support among many field commanders.

Question: How do you assess the activities of the UN mission for Afghanistan led by Lakhdar Brahimi?

Answer: I personally note with satisfaction that UN Secretary General's special representative Lakhdar Brahimi is making very energetic efforts for the world community and the anti-terrorist coalition not to forget its obligations to Afghanistan. The mission he leads is doing everything necessary to preserve unity in the current Afghan administration, to bring the country to adopt a new constitution and elect a new Loya Jirga, and to create a representative and stable authority in Afghanistan. The positions Brahimi acts from are realistic and he believes that western-patterned democratic traditions being imposed artificially will not produce any positive emotions among the Afghan population.

Question: In contrast to the slow pace at which the real economic structure is being restored in Afghanistan, production of narcotics is growing swiftly. For Russia the Afghan drug traffic poses a direct threat. What is Moscow's thinking on this score?

Answer: This is an extremely serious problem. We note with anxiety that the production of narcotic drugs is again on the rise, and without real joint efforts by the entire international community - financial and by health bodies - this problem will not be solved. New approaches are needed on how to wrest the Afghan peasantry from its "narcotic dependence" in the economic and social sense.

In May a conference meets in Paris to trace drug traffic routes from Afghanistan. Russia has come forward with an idea to work out a comprehensive approach to solving the problem of drug production in Afghanistan - to pursue measures for combating the manufacture of drugs from the moment opium poppy seeds are planted in the soil to the ultimate consumer. Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has sent an appropriate message to EU representatives and the UN leadership in this connection.