INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dushanbe and on the situation in Afghanistan
Tajikistan joining the Moscow-led Eurasia Economic Union trading bloc
The broadcaster noted that Putin and Rahmon were to meet one-on-one, a format suggesting the discussion would wade into sensitive
avoiding the full impact of Western sanctions, the need for Rahmon to come to terms with Taliban rule in neighboring Afghanistan, and the
presence in other ways too, through the building of schools
Russian prosperity caused by the sanctions threatens both the economic and cultural angles of this relationship
wildly corrupt and inept rulers as they enable the population to just about keep their heads above water
One of the many downsides to this model, though, is that it gives Russia powerful leverage to influence domestic affairs in Tajikistan,
since the Kremlin always reserves the right to close its borders to Tajik laborers
The powerful Russian army has proven something of a paper tiger prone to relying on atrocities when fighting mobile and highly motivated
infrastructure to defend the border
Washington has no expectations that Tajikistan will take a conciliatory position to Afghanistan in its current form.Russia, meanwhile, is
inching toward granting the Taliban regime something akin to recognition
for the portly 69-year-old Tajik president is to see his kleptocratic family retain power, and the wealth that comes with it, and for this
country since the early 1990s
In taking over that job, he displaced Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, a veteran associate of Rahmon long known to have been a favorite of the
any handover would, in any event, need the blessing of the Kremlin
If Putin has granted that sought-after approval, a changeover in Tajikistan may be imminent and the sense of this otherwise uneventful trip
may become clearer.This story was first published by Eurasianet.org.The Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
