MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. The recognition of the Taliban government (outlawed in Russia) in Afghanistan by the world community could take years and will depend on the Taliban's policy towards its Central Asian neighbors, their ability to consolidate Afghan society and root out security threats, Andrei Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support for the Valdai Discussion Club, told TASS.
"This recognition will take not only months, but years. I think that it takes less than five years. Unless a catastrophe occurs, the government of Afghanistan will be recognized in the foreseeable future. It’s an area of Eurasia that’s vitally crucial, a crossroads of interests, and it’s necessary to interact with them somehow. You can’t turn a blind eye to it for long. The only large problem here is Afghanistan’s stability itself," he said.
According to Bystritsky, Afghanistan is in a state of fierce internal political struggle and amid economic hardship, that’s the reason why a lot will depend on the Taliban and dialogue between its fledgling government and its neighbors. The Taliban’s conduct, its policy, its attitude towards its neighbors, and its civility will be crucial. What’s more, to what extent the Taliban can consolidate society will also be of great importance. At present, it is not so consolidated around them yet. It’s a permanent, very intricate controversial process. Will the civil war continue or not? If the Taliban is more or less effectively stable in the near future, everyone will see that it is on the right track with regard to governance, that will definitely accelerate the recognition process."
The process of recognizing the Taliban is also complicated by difficulties with the development of a unified position on this issue by Afghanistan's neighbors, the analyst believes. According to him, countries in the region pursue conflicting interests and they are under mutual pressure. "There is no unity in the world community, so it hampers the recognition process. If there was a unified position, it would be easier, by the way, for the Taliban itself. In any case, it would face a well-defined agenda, and without it, they’re tempted to maneuver between different forces by somehow playing with loaded dice," the analyst concluded.