So Much for US Help: Afghan VP Asks Russia for Military Aid to Fight ISIL

© AP Photo / Musadeq SadeqAn Afghan investigation team stand in rubble caused by a car bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan.
An Afghan investigation team stand in rubble caused by a car bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. - Sputnik International
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Abdul Rashid Dostum, Afghanistan's vice president since 2014, asked Moscow to provide military assistance to Kabul in its fight against the Islamic State since the radical group is allegedly planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

The official, often described as one of the most powerful warlords in the country, wants Russia to supply armaments, military aircraft and helicopters.

"General Dostum has finally understood that military agreements with Western countries yield no results. Hence he has to ask Russia for help," Kabul-based political observer Abdoul Ghadir Mosbah told Sputnik.

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The security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, he added. On the one hand, the government and its allies are ignoring this dangerous trend. On the other hand, numerous terrorist groups are increasingly threatening Kabul by assuming control over new territories on a daily basis.

"Afghan soldiers are primarily using weapons produced in Russia. It makes sense for General Dostum to consider fully equipping the army with Russian armaments. This would be more efficient than waiting for arms deliveries from the West," Abdoul Ghadir Mosbah noted.

However, Hafiz Rasekh of the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan doubts that the United States will let this happen.

The country's former president Hamid Karzai "was interested in closer ties with Russia. Today [bilateral cooperation] is out of the question. It's common knowledge that the current Afghan government is a puppet in the hands of the US. Abdullah Abdullah, Ashraf Ghani and Dostum are unable to do anything without [Washington's] permission," the politician told Sputnik.

The United States will not allow Russia to have any influence in Afghanistan, he concluded.

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