Valdai Club

On September 17, the Valdai Club held a discussion in partnership with the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF), titled “Afghanistan under Taliban rule: A view from Russia and India”.

The speedy withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the fall of the Afghan government and the rapid victory of the Taliban (banned in Russia) have posed a number of problems for the states of the region and external powers, including Russia and India. Among these issues are the choice of the paradigm of official relations with Afghanistan, the risks of “instability export” outside the country, the prospect of revising the UN Security Council resolutions on the Taliban, and other problems. 

For Russia, the security risks in the Central Asian region are rather relevant, including the security of its CSTO allies and CIS partners. India has done a lot for the humanitarian development of Afghanistan. Threats of the “export” of terrorist activity and control of security risks are also important for New Delhi. For both countries, questions about the strategies of third countries – China, the United States, the main EU and NATO countries - remain open. 

How do Russia and India see the development of the situation in Afghanistan? What are the prospects for cooperation with the new regime in the context of the existing UN Security Council sanctions and unilateral sanctions of a number of states? What are the key security challenges for Moscow and New Delhi in connection with Afghanistan? These and other questions were answered by the participants in the expert discussion. 

Speakers:

• Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Founding Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy

• Andrey Kazantsev, Director of the Analytical Centre of Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University, Professor at the Higher School of Economics 

• Anatol Lieven, Senior Research Fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
• Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor, The Print

• Ivan Safranchuk, Director, Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Euro-Asian Studies, MGIMO University

• P.S. Raghavan, Former Indian Ambassador to Russia and Former Head, National Security Advisory Board

• Nandan Unnikrishnan, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

Moderator:

• Ivan Timofeev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Working languages: Russian, English.