Russia seeking to undermine US reputation in Afghan, S. Asia

Washington : Russia is seeking to undermine American reputation in Afghanistan and South Asia region, a senior US official has said after Moscow termed President Donald Trump’s new strategy for Afghanistan as a ‘dead end’.

“Well, I think that Russia’s reaction is very predictable. They’ve been starting some very unhelpful propaganda with regard the US role in Afghanistan. You’ve probably seen Russian officials trying to claim that the US is supporting ISIS in Afghanistan, which is a fictitious statement,” a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity was responding to questions on Russian scepticism over Trump’s new policy on Afghanistan and South Asia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told reporters yesterday in Moscow that the new Afghan strategy is a “dead end”. The strategy “puts emphasis on force” he said.

According to the US official, the Russian reaction was predictable. “Unfortunately, I think the Russians have taken a very tactical view here, and they are seeking to undermine our reputation in the region, and so false information about US objectives,” the official said. Explaining that the Afghan and South Asia strategy is not a military only strategy, the official said that this is a strong, diplomatic, political element, even economic element to the strategy.

“So it’s just factually incorrect to say that this is an overly militaristic strategy. But it doesn’t surprise me because I think the Russians see themselves as competitors for influence in the region, and so there role has not been particularly helpful over the last several months in Afghanistan,” the official said. According to the official, the US thinks that they are genuinely concerned about Islamic State, and this is driving them to consider the support to the Taliban.

“But I think that’s a short-sighted policy as well. So they have not been particularly helpful in terms of supporting what the US is trying to do in the region, which is unfortunate,” the official added.