Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Moshkin and Mikhail Zakharov
[REGNUM] On September 29, a delegation of the ruling Taliban movement in Afghanistan (recognized as terrorist by a decision of the Russian Supreme Court in March 2003) arrived in Russia for international negotiations.
At the time of their ban in the Russian Federation, the Taliban were an armed group fighting with the American contingent, US partners in Operation Enduring Freedom and the pro-Western Kabul government. As you know, the US-NATO operations “Freedom Sentinel” and “Resolute Support” ended in August 2021 with the hasty flight of the remnants of the Western contingent - and the restoration of the Taliban “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, seemingly “defeated” by the Americans back in 2001.
One of the Taliban leaders, former bodyguard Amir Khan Muttaqi, who now heads the emirate’s Foreign Ministry, also headed the Afghan delegation at the Moscow format negotiations, which this time are taking place in Kazan. The “Moscow format,” we recall, appeared in 2017 as a platform for peace negotiations on Afghanistan (which was then de jure ruled by the pro-American regime of Ashraf Ghani). The “format” now includes Russia, the main regional powers of the Middle East - Iran, Pakistan and India, and the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia.
As for the Taliban, as the organizers explained, the ruling group in Kabul is present at the conference on Afghanistan as guests, but not participants. “This is a fundamental difference,” emphasized Zamir Kabulov, the President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Director of the Second Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with RTVI.
Let us note once again that a representative delegation of an organization banned in Russia came, for example, to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum 2022. In March last year, Moscow issued accreditation to the first Afghan diplomat representing the new authorities (read: the Taliban).
Before the current negotiations in Kazan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that he does not plan to meet with the Taliban delegation in Kazan. “It was not Sergei Viktorovich who invited them, but I, as the president’s special representative. The minister does not bear any obligations to the guests I invited,” Kabulov explained.
Russia may recognize the interim Taliban government in the future,
...at some time when all have acknowledged that interim in this sense is better translated as permanent...
but its representatives must earn it by fulfilling their obligations, the special representative of the Russian President added. The question arises: how exactly can the Taliban earn recognition from Moscow?
TWO CONDITIONS FOR LEAVING THE BLACKLIST
The emirate’s authorities will need to resolve two key issues, Nikita Mendkovich, head of the Eurasian Analytical Club, told IA Regnum. In his opinion, this is, firstly, strengthening the fight against drug trafficking
...how are the Taliban to fight against drug trafficking when that’s their major non-donor income stream...
and, secondly, a consistent fight against terrorists themselves.
Terrorism is integral to their raison d’être. And all the terror groups in the country except for ISIS are boxes in the Taliban table of organization, so how are they to fight against them?
“We are talking about the liquidation in Afghanistan of the representative offices of al-Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Turkestan (banned in Russia) and other similar terrorist groups that threaten our allies in Central Asia,” Mendkovich explained.
*shrug* Ain’t gonna happen.
The procedure for exclusion from the blacklist is a matter of technique. Rosfinmonitoring monitors “lists of organizations and individuals associated with terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, compiled in accordance with decisions of the UN Security Council.” The same Rosfinmonitoring is in charge of inclusion in the terrorist list and exclusion from it based on information from the competent government agencies. Logically, in the case of the Taliban, we should be talking about the decision of the Russian court - and then Rosfinmonitoring comes into play.
But first of all, a decision must be made at the international level.
Back in 2021, Kabulov said that Russia could launch the procedure for removing the Taliban from the terrorist list only after the organization was removed from the relevant list by the UN Security Council. In June 2022, Russian Presidential Assistant for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov spoke in the same spirit: the Taliban could be removed from the UN Security Council sanctions list provided the fight against terrorism is intensified and human rights are respected.
The main thing is that the president also expressed a corresponding opinion. The decision to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations should be made at the UN level, Vladimir Putin explained at the 2021 Valdai Forum. “Depending on this, we stand in solidarity and will make a decision on exclusion from the list of terrorist organizations. It seems to me that we are approaching this... Russia’s position will be to move in this direction,” Putin was quoted as saying by RT.
“We don't consider them terrorists per se. This has been proven by the very course of life,” Zamir Kabulov explained the other day, adding that “the Taliban announced that they are not going to engage in global jihad or transfer their ideology and way of thinking to neighboring states.”
Huh. I never expected to see Russians pretend to be gullible.
One thing is clear: at the current negotiations in Kazan, the Taliban will not be “brought out of the shadows.” “The Moscow format meetings are precisely a political dialogue,” Kabulov emphasizes, and there are no plans to announce the removal of the Taliban from the Russian list of terrorist organizations.
Nevertheless, in the future, Russia will continue to maintain contacts with the Taliban - at least taking into account the new reality - and both sides are interested in this.
Russia demonstrating they are the alternative to America an the West, though in this case it doesn’t mesh well with their posture of protecting Christianity.
THIRD STUMBLING BLOCK
Another issue that our Foreign Ministry also mentions and which is clearly slowing down the process is the creation (instead of the current temporary governing bodies) of what is called an “inclusive government.” Simply put, a government that includes various ethno-religious, regional, clan and purely political forces in Afghanistan.
Seriously? Why on earth would the Taliban, who believe they just reconquered Afghanistan in order to reestablish their caliphate, accept accommodating those they believe they’ve conquered?
Now the government is dominated by Sunni Pashtuns (which is understandable, Pashtun Kandahar was and remains the base of the Taliban movement), but these people make up only 40% of the population. The north of Afghanistan is inhabited mainly by Tajiks, Uzbeks and Turkmen, in the center live the Hazaras (people of Mongolian origin, Shiites by religion), and in the southwest - the Baluchis.
The Taliban understand inclusivity in their own way - as the inclusion in the leadership of the country of representatives of the same Taliban, but from different regions and peoples of the country. “Now in the Taliban government, as they say, there are Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras. This is true. But all these ethnic representatives are all Taliban in political terms,” the Russian Foreign Ministry website quoted Sergei Lavrov as saying.
As we’ve already seen, non-Pashtun Talibs are still second class citizens in the Talib caliphate. Still, non-Talib non-Pashtuns are third class citizens... or worse.
This position, in fact, was “brought” to Kazan by I. O. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The inclusive government of Afghanistan has proven to be ineffective over the past 45 years, so neighboring countries should instead focus on supporting the existing cabinet formed by the Taliban, Muttaqi was quoted as saying by TASS . Let us explain - 45 years ago the pro-communist Saur Revolution took place, which was soon followed by the entry of the Soviet contingent into Afghanistan.
WE'LL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WOMEN'S LIBERATION
The prospect of sharing power hardly attracts the Taliban, but they cannot completely ignore such calls and refuse to visit Kazan. Last time, the Taliban obviously did not listen to Moscow’s opinion on an inclusive government, so the fourth meeting of the mechanism was held in November 2022 in Moscow without their participation.
The food is good, the beds are soft, and the unbeliever women are pretty, so long as the Taliban pretend to consider the negotiating points. And there is also the possibility that the other side will renew throwing money at the problem.
Politically, both sides need the meeting, Omar Nessar, director of the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told IA Regnum.
For Moscow, this is a diplomatic plus - both from the point of view of the fact that other formats of dialogue, except for Moscow, have gone into the shadows, and from the desire to demonstrate the effectiveness of Russian diplomacy, taking into account Moscow’s known relations with the West. “The Taliban really need this meeting, since they are virtually isolated. Over the past year, even high-ranking foreign diplomats have stopped visiting them. Therefore, this is a good opportunity for them to once again demonstrate that they are not isolated, communicate with the outside world and try to solve problems,” Nessar notes.
The Taliban will have to navigate between the wishes of the countries surrounding Afghanistan (on which humanitarian aid depends) and local realities, where the Taliban are unlikely to want to include anyone other than brothers in arms in the government or give women the right to secondary education, experts conclude.
#2
This is their second go at it, Grom, and in the meantime a number have been given Ivy League (or the equivalent) educations. Link.
Last time they were were able to fight off the West-backed Northern Alliance and hold the Pashtun portion of the country until we went after them after 9/11. This time nobody seems willing to support the various rebel groups, and the current generation of leaders grew up differently than their fathers.
UNITED STATES slaps sanctions against former Sudan foreign affairs minister Ali Karti; Karti is accused of obstructing efforts to bring about a ceasefire in the country's civil war; he is currently the secretary general of the Sudanese Islamic Movement. pic.twitter.com/rgXIwFVLZm
Posted by: trailing wife ||
09/30/2023 00:35 ||
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Link ||
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Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
#1
(USG) Ali Karti (Karti) was the Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Government of Omar al-Bashir. Following the fall of the al-Bashir regime, Karti was selected as leader of the Sudanese Islamic Movement (SIM) and led efforts to derail Sudan’s progress toward a full democratic transition, including by undermining the former civilian-led transitional government and the Framework Political Agreement process, which contributed to the outbreak of fighting between the SAF and RSF on April 15, 2023. He and other hardline Sudanese Islamists are actively obstructing efforts to reach a ceasefire to end the current war between the SAF and RSF and opposing Sudanese civilians’ efforts to restore Sudan’s democratic transition.
Karti is designated for being responsible for, or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan.
[GoobjoogNews] The United States government has announces a $5 million monetary reward for information on whereabouts of a senior al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... leader.
In a statement, the US Justice Department announced the reward against Deputy al-shabaab leader Abukar Ali Adan which it has listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
The US made the appeal saying, "About 5 million US dollars will be paid for information on Abukar Ali Aden. Help us find this key terrorist leader," the statement reads.
The Justice Department had earlier announced another $10 million award on al-shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye also known as Abu Ubaidah who assumed the position after the death of former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane in 2014.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with his South Sudanese counterpart, General Chol Thon Balok . The press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense reported this on September 29.
It is noted that during the meeting, promising cooperation projects in the defense sector were discussed, and the parties exchanged views on current issues of regional security.
At the meeting, the importance of the partnership between the military departments of Russia and South Sudan was noted to ensure security and stability in Central Africa. The defense ministers of the two countries agreed on further joint steps to develop bilateral relations in the military field, the press service clarified.
As Regnum reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on September 28 with his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir, during which he noted that much remains to be done for the economic development of the two countries. According to Putin, Russian-South Sudanese relations are developing very intensively. He recalled that Moscow was one of the first to recognize the sovereignty and independence of South Sudan.
Putin noted that the two countries have many good opportunities in a variety of areas, including energy. He expressed hope that the existing developments, including the construction of a refinery in South Sudan with the participation of a Russian company and the creation of the second stage of this plant, will benefit the development of our trade and economic ties.
In addition, the Russian leader emphasized that the further development of the two countries should be linked to ensuring security in the region.
As, in turn, Salva Kiir noted, the South Sudanese authorities do not see alternatives to friendship with Russia and intend to develop cooperation with Moscow.
#1
Office of Press Relations
press@usaid.gov Friday, May 19, 2023
Press Release
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an initial $103 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support Sudan and neighboring countries experiencing the impacts of the crisis. The new funding includes $8 million for the Central African Republic, as well as $17 million for Chad, $6 million for Egypt, $22 million for South Sudan, and $50 million for Sudan, to help meet increased humanitarian needs resulting from the ongoing crisis.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Joe Biden first discussed the potential agreement on the president's visit to the Gulf in July 2022
In return for the protection of America's military, Saudi would agree to softening relations with Israel - even if Jerusalem refuses to grant freedoms to Palestinians
The pact is likely to fall short of the NATO-style guarantee but could mirror similar arrangements with Bahrain - where the US Navy Fifth Fleet is based
#2
So-called ‘travel agents’, many of them based in Africa itself, offer ‘all-inclusive’ packages on TikTok for as much as $10,000, including transit visas and onward travel from Colombia.
These poor, impoverished Afri-Migrants seeking new jobs, where exactly do they come up with the $10,000. per person air fares? Are USD being funneled to global NGO's operating within donor nations by the US State Dept? Are US taxpayers funding the logistics on both ends of the migration ?
Perhaps illegal immigration across the Mexican border was actually never about the 'Latin American' poor.
Again, who is funding these pricey airline tickets ?
#5
skid, american black and africans tend to not like each other
Posted by: Chris ||
09/30/2023 9:07 Comments ||
Top||
#6
/\ If the immigrants (replacement people) can be successfully introduced to urban ghetto life, there is a chance they can become wards of the state.... and ultimately, democratic voters.
#12
From Hadrian's tomb, Jesus saves
As a native American waves
To the do-gooder whites
And their immigrants' rites:
Congo Square on his ancestors' graves.
[a hundred drums contend with the knock knock knock knock knocking of a hundred roofers' nailguns over Laughlin montage of a hundred "Police Take Notice" signs]
[An Nahar] The swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and exodus of much of its population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world. Traumatized by genocide a century ago, they now fear the erasure of what they consider a central and beloved part of their historic homeland.
The separatist ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday announced that it was dissolving and that the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by year's end — a seeming death knell for its 30-year de-facto independence.
Azerbaijan, which routed the region's Armenian forces in a lightning offensive last week, has pledged to respect the rights of the territory's Armenian community. But by Thursday morning, 74,400 people — over 60% of Nagorno-Karabakh's population — had fled to Armenia, and the influx continues, according to Armenian officials.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2023 00:00 ||
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[15 views]
Top|| File under: Ottoman Proxies
More than 2,500 migrants colonists died or went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... so far in 2023, a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees official said Thursday.
"By September 24, over 2,500 people were accounted as dead or missing in 2023 alone," Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the UNHCR New York office, told the U.N. Security Council.
That number marked a large increase over the 1,680 dead or missing migrants colonists in the same period in 2022.
"Lives are also lost on land, away from public attention," she added.
The land journey from sub-Saharan African countries, where many of the migrants colonists hail from, to departure points on the Tunisian and Libyan coasts "remains one of the world’s most dangerous," Menikdiwela said.
The migrants colonists and refugees "risk death and gross human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... violations at every step," said Menikdiwela.
In total, some 186,000 people arrived by sea in southern Europe from January to Sept. 24, landing in Italia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Malta.
The majority, over 130,000 people, arrived in Italia, marking an increase of 83% compared to the same period in 2022.
As for departure points, between January and August of this year it is estimated that more than 102,000 refugees and migrants colonists tried to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia and 45,000 from Libya.
An estimated 31,000 people were rescued at sea or intercepted and disembarked in Tunisia, and 10,600 in Libya, Menikdiwela said.
[IsraelTimes] Confirming Tehran’s claims, data from US Space Force says Noor satellite was carried by a three-stage Qased rocket and is stationed 450 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
[An Nahar] A U.S. plan providing monthly financial aid to the personnel of the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces will not be renewed when its six-month period expires in November, a U.S. Embassy source has been quoted as saying.
“The plan will not be renewed due to the failure to approve reforms and elect a president,” media reports quoted the source as saying.
French President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Wednesday that France and its allies were losing patience after almost a year of deadlock and are now reviewing their financial aid.
Lebanon has been without a president for almost a year after ex-head of state Michel Aoun's mandate expired, with its feuding factions repeatedly failing in parliament to elect a new leader as an unprecedented economic crisis escalates in the multi-confessional former French colony.
Faced with what he described as a "denial of reality" from Lebanese officials, France and its allies the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, are losing patience and could review their financial support for Lebanon, Le Drian said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Every day, in little ways, the World becomes a better place.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
So-called ‘travel agents’, many of them based in Africa itself, offer ‘all-inclusive’ packages on TikTok for as much as $10,000, including transit visas and onward travel from Colombia.
[An Nahar] The swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and exodus of much of its population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world. Traumatized by genocide a century ago, they now fear the erasure of what they consider a central and beloved part of their historic homeland.
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
