Viacheslav Volodin: the US has done nothing for the country's humanitarian sphere in 20 years of presence in Afghanistan

Consider the experience

Viacheslav Volodin Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast) noted that this year marks 20 years since the US had established military bases in Afghanistan, and added that “we cannot but express our fears that the number of drug laboratories has increased almost 200 times over these 20 years“.

The Chairman of the State Duma proposed summarizing the results of the US military presence in Afghanistan. “How many enterprises are located on the territory of Afghanistan, how many health facilities have appeared, and what educational projects are being implemented,” he said and noted that the United States annually spends about $ 38 billion on operations in Afghanistan.

“I would like to understand: these enormous amounts that are just comparable to the resources that our country spends on armament and maintaining its defense capacity, which part of these sums is allocated for resolving humanitarian issues, social issues, health issues, education, development of that country, as the United States assumed responsibility for its security and peace,” said Viacheslav Volodin, and stressed that these issues are an internal affair of Afghanistan, and the Afghans themselves should analyze all the pros and cons.

Mir Rahman Rahmani noted that the funds mentioned by Viacheslav Volodin are spent for deploying the US troops. He also proposed to establish cooperation between the relevant security committees of the parliaments of the two countries. Viacheslav Volodin said that Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Aleksei Gordeev will be responsible for the interaction between the State Duma and the House of the People of the National Assembly of Afghanistan.

Non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states

The parties discussed the long history of relations between Russia and Afghanistan. Mir Rahman Rahmani stressed that Russia was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Afghanistan. He noted that earlier the USSR, and now the Russian Federation, provides many scholarships for Afghan students in Russian universities, and his country appreciates Russia's support in all areas. ”I also would like to express my gratitude to the Russian side for supporting the beginning of the inter-Afghan dialogue, and for the fact that the Russian Federation has from time to time held the meetings of the inter-Afghan dialogue,“ he said. At the same time, Mir Rahman Rahmani noted that the relations between the two countries were not always good.

”One of such examples is the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. I believe that this was a mistake of the then Soviet leadership and lack of experience of the Afghan leadership, which did not know the situation in their own country very well,“ he said and stressed that there were enormous sacrifices on both sides as a result.

“Fortunately, I should note that this page has already been turned in the history of cooperation between our states,” he concluded.

Viacheslav Volodin emphasized that Russia builds relations between states basing only on the principles of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states and mutual respect, and also said that there is a big difference between the induction of contingent into the country at the request of a legally elected government and the treacherous invasion of troops.

Common Challenges

 “We are facing global challenges and it is important for us to develop solutions to jointly counter them,” said Viacheslav Volodin.

At the same time, the Chairman of the State Duma called the topic of ensuring security and combating drug trafficking a priority. “We suggest developing relations not only within the framework of bilateral meetings but also within the framework of specialized committees,” he said. “It is extremely important for us to join forces to fight against terrorism, to do everything possible to prevent the spread of drugs,” Viacheslav Volodin emphasized.

The Chairman of the State Duma invited Mir Rahman Rahmani to take part in the International Forum “Development of Parliamentarism”, which will be held in Moscow in June. Parties may discuss not only security issues but also other matters.

“We hope that communication with our colleagues from other countries will also allow us to find answers to questions that concern all countries,” he said.

Mutual understanding and interaction

“As far as I know, 300 thousand Afghan citizens know the Russian language, this is one of the common points that we could discuss. Communication, trust issues largely determine the language of communication,” said Viacheslav Volodin.