Russia seeks to make Afghanistan ally against West – former Estonian ambassador

This opinion was shared by former Estonian Ambassador to Afghanistan Harri Tiido in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Russia's political interests in Afghanistan involve increasing the number of states it can collaborate with against the West. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s government is divided into two factions. One faction seeks better relations with the West, including the U.S., while the other wants to distance itself from the West and align with other powers," said Tiido.

According to Tiido, Russia is economically interested in completing the long-standing TAPI pipeline project (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India). This would provide the aggressor state with an additional route for supplying gas to Pakistan and India.

Another crucial economic aspect of Russia's interest in Afghanistan lies in its mineral resources, particularly lithium deposits. Tiido drew a parallel with Eastern Ukraine, which hosts Europe's largest lithium deposit. "Whoever controls lithium mining controls the development of technology. This metal is essential for progress. In this context, we should also note Russia's and China's interest in African countries, particularly those with lithium deposits," he noted.

The West, according to Tiido, is facing a lithium shortage. If Russia gains access to Afghanistan's lithium reserves, it would have further opportunities to dominate or influence the global lithium market.

Harri Tiido is a renowned Estonian diplomat and political journalist. He has served as Estonia’s ambassador to NATO, Afghanistan, Poland, and Finland. Earlier in his career, he worked as an editor for the Estonian service of Voice of America and was the chief editor of the Estonian radio station Kuku Raadio.

As reported by Ukrinform, at the end of November, a draft law was introduced in Russia's State Duma to remove the radical Islamist movement Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations.

Recently, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu visited Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized power in 2021. During his meeting with Taliban representatives, Shoigu announced that the Russian government was entering the "final stage" of removing the Taliban from the list of banned organizations. Shoigu also stated that Russia was ready to invest in Afghanistan's railways, transportation, industry, agriculture, energy, and mining sectors.