What Is Russia Doing in Afghanistan?

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In The Media

What Is Russia Doing in Afghanistan?

Russia seeks to build a diplomatic profile in Afghanistan that circumvents the West and the government of Afghanistan in an attempt to undermine the U.S.- and NATO-led peace effort.

By Andrew S. Weiss

Published on Feb 15, 2017

Source: WBUR’s Here & Now

Last week, Senator John McCain said that Russia is propping up the Taliban to undermine U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. Speaking on WBUR, Carnegie’s Andrew Weiss explained the motivation behind Russia's presence in Afghanistan:

“We’re talking about harassment and efforts by the Russians to undermine the United States- and NATO-led military effort [in Afghanistan]. What we’ve seen in recent days is the Russians trying to build a diplomatic profile on Afghanistan that circumvents what the U.S.-led effort is about and circumvents the government of Afghanistan itself... They’re building bridges to the Taliban, the radical group which ruled Afghanistan before the U.S. military intervention in 2001. And they’re trying to legitimize the Taliban.”

This interview was originally broadcast on WBUR’s Here & Now.

About the Author

Andrew S. Weiss

James Family Chair, Vice President for Studies

Andrew S. Weiss is the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research on Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. His graphic novel biography of Vladimir Putin, Accidental Czar: the Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin, was published by First Second/Macmillan in 2022.

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Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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