Uzbekistan sees Afghanistan as crucial for regional peace

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has put creating a “zone of stability, steady development and good neighborliness” in Central Asia as priority in his foreign policy. This, according to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Korea, played a significant role for the bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in February. The following is the first in a series of written Q&As with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov about Uzbekistan's vision of the major aspects of political settlement in Afghanistan and its contribution to ensuring regional security. ― ED.

Q:

What has made Uzbekistan actively join the international efforts on resolving the Afghan conflict, since not all of the countries that are interested in this were ready to act consistently, up to organizing such a high-profile conference as the Tashkent one?

A: Don't forget that we have a common border with Afghanistan. We have a centuries-old history and destinies of our people are closely intertwined. As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has noted, “for over a span of millennia the people of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan developed in one cultural and civilization space.” And how cannot we be interested in the soonest recovery of normal life there?

Well, you understand that this conflict ― the longest in world history ― has led to the fact that Afghanistan practically lost its statehood. And how without it can all branches of power fully function, the laws be followed and economy be in operation?

A: Just imagine ― we are living in the 21st century and there is still a war going on, which was begun in the last century. The war has already been continuing for almost 40 years. Nearly 2 million people fell victims to it and another 6 million, according to the Ministry for Refugees of Afghanistan, fled the country.

Certainly, today there is a need for common regional strategy which will ensure not only a return for refugees to their homeland, but also their active involvement to construction of peaceful life in Afghanistan.

Annually there are tens of armed clashes on the borderline territory with the states of Central Asia. There was a time when the hostilities developed next to our borders. All of this raises concerns.

Moreover, in the due course of pushing out the ISIS militants from the Middle East, Afghanistan became a shelter for transnational terrorist organizations. This fact started to gravely threaten not only regional, but also global security.

We are proceeding from the position that security is indivisible and it can be ensured only by concerted efforts.

The leader of Uzbekistan has numerously stated that “the security of Afghanistan is the security of Uzbekistan.” In our Afghan policy we are struggling not only for the future of Afghanistan, but rather for our common security, for the world without terrorism, fanaticism and violence.

Along with this, assisting peace in Afghanistan is not only addressing the problems of security.

In the Afghan issue we are not basing solely on the so-called “defensive approach.” We are confident that we understand well what are the developments in our region and not attempting to play any zero-sum games in which if any of the players wins then another loses. We are the pragmatics and want to be good neighbors.

Despite the borders, which were formed just 100 years ago, there is a 3,000-year-old history of interactions between our peoples.

The current borders, which were put in place along the river of Amudarya, have never been an obstacle for movement of people, engaging in trade and mutual penetration of cultures and religions.

A peaceful Afghanistan is capable to provide Central Asia with the shortest route to naval communications, diversify our transport corridors and open up vast markets for exports of domestic goods. It is extremely important to help Afghanistan to integrate into regional economic cooperation, and Tashkent is keenly wishing it to happen.

Besides, we need to understand the following: the less the level of threats from Afghanistan will be, the less we will spend to maintain national security. The saved resources can be channeled to tackling the socio-economic issues and raising living conditions of our citizens.

How do you understand the nature of the conflict in Afghanistan? As a whole, what is going on in this country?

A: You have asked a very important question. Without understanding the nature of the crisis one cannot develop effective strategy of its resolution. The conflict in Afghanistan for over the 40 years saw significant transformation. At present, the situation in the region is completely different from what it has been at the early stage of the armed confrontation. This is unarguable fact.

It was important to comprehend what is taking placing there now. Is this a civil war or only a fight on the part of the government against terrorists? Is this an international conflict or a regional one but with powerful involvement of global players? Or does the problem lay with turning Afghanistan into a “grey zone” of unhindered transboundary trafficking of drugs, arms and in persons, into a “comfortable harbor” for international terrorist organizations?

Today we don't have a sole simple answer for these questions. The Afghan conflict has incorporated in itself everything that I have enlisted above and transformed into a complex and hard-to-solve tangle of contradictions where domestic, regional and international problems are closely intertwined.

When you understood what you have been dealing with in Afghanistan, you decided to conduct the Tashkent Conference by inviting to it the leaders of world diplomacy and high-level politicians?

A: Yes. Since, due to the events in the Middle East and North Africa, the situation in Afghanistan has dropped off the grid of world politics. However, the conflict didn't lose its intensity and acuteness. Therefore, the forum became a breakthrough in the quest for ways of the Afghan settlement. This was admitted both by our Afghan colleagues and foreign partners at all levels.

The meeting in Tashkent allowed to bring the problem of Afghanistan back into the focus of international agenda. The principle new moment, which was stipulated by the Tashkent Conference, is the fact that the regional and global approaches in the issues of settlement in Afghanistan began acquiring greater significance.

What do you mean?

A: It was underscored that without efforts on the part of neighbors and leading global powers it will no longer be impossible to settle the conflict. It was at the Tashkent conference that it has been demonstrated the readiness by international community to assist direct dialogue with the Taliban Movement without any preliminary conditions. I will add to it ― it was here in Uzbekistan that we have been able to truly “push” Taliban to get involved in the negotiation process. As you know, later our partners have also had several rounds of negotiations with the Taliban representatives in order to better understand their position and seek compromise.

Besides, the world community has realized that effective development of the peace process is possible only given active participation of the countries neighboring Afghanistan. In this context, it was important to ensure regional consensus on fundamental principles of the Afghan reconciliation. It was needed so that the countries, which are divided, as if to say, by various contradictions could agree to come to terms among themselves: Pakistan and India, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and there is a special position of Turkey… It was possible to girdle all of this around one understanding of the Afghan problem.

After the Tashkent Conference, the positions of Washington, Moscow and Beijing came much closer to one another.

As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has underscored, “The main condition of advancement to peace is development and implementation in practice of one comprehensive peace program for Afghanistan endorsed at the regional and global levels.”

The Declaration adopted at the Conference became a certain “roadmap” of the Afghan reconciliation, counteracting international terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as regional economic cooperation. The document has formulated conditions of Afghanistan's steady development, raising well-being of the Afghan people and its involvement to creative processes in the region and the world as a whole.

In order to ensure various countries come to a consensus at the Conference, which you were speaking about, obviously it was necessary to undertake serious preliminary work. Tell me how you prepared for the Tashkent Forum.

A: Above all, on the eve of the Conference President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has personally and thoroughly discussed issues of the Afghan settlement with the leaders of world powers: President of Russia Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, President of China Xi Jinping, the EU leadership, heads of the states of Central Asia, India, Pakistan and Iran.

However, the preparation for the Forum began long before these meetings ― from close cooperation with our Afghan friends. In essence, it was our big joint work. I will remind that the Tashkent Conference was inaugurated by two presidents ― Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ashraf Ghani.

On the instruction of the President, the close contacts have also been put in place with the representatives of major domestic political forces of Afghanistan, including head of the Government A. Abdullah, former Afghan president H. Karzai, leader of the Islamic Union for Liberation of Afghanistan A. Sayyaf, leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan G. Khekmatiyar, chairman of the Supreme Council of Peace of Afghanistan K. Khalili, member of the leading Council of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan B. Dostum, leader of the National Islamic Front S. Ghilani, members of the leading Council of the Islamic Society of Afghanistan Yu. Kanuni and M.Ismail-Khan, former Balkh governor A. Noor, heads of the political office of the Taliban Movement in Qatar Mullah A. Barodar, A. Stanikzai and others.

I would like to underscore that all of its actions in this direction Tashkent coordinated with official Kabul. We remain committed to a fundamental principle ― the political process on establishing durable peace must by carried our only by Afghans and under the leadership of the people of Afghanistan.