Russia to procure US weapons from the Taliban

Kabul: Russia has prepared to recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. But in return, Russia’s condition was that the Taliban should hand over the weapons left behind in Afghanistan when the US army withdraws. It has been claimed on social media that the Taliban will soon decide on this. Information regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special interest in the matter also comes out.

In August 2021, the US withdrew its troops completely from Afghanistan. However, the US left a huge stock of weapons in the vacated military bases during the retreat. Initially, the Biden government had denied commenting on these allegations. But according to information provided by the US Department of Defense to the Senate, at least $7.12 billion worth of weapons and defence equipment were left in Afghanistan.

These include 33 BLACK HAWK helicopters, 23 Super Tucano fighter jets, four C-130 cargo planes, more than 22 thousand Humvees (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle-HMMWV), 115 military vehicles, 634 armoured vehicles, five and a half million machine guns, 16 thousand night-vision goggles, more than one and a half million radios. Moreover, videos and photographs of all these weapons in the custody of the Taliban have surfaced. Therefore, the Biden government was blamed for making the Taliban well-equipped with arms and ammunition while the US military retreated.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has been demanding international recognition of its rule in Afghanistan. Neither Pakistan, which advocates the Taliban internationally, nor China, which has signed fuel and other cooperation agreements with the Taliban regime, has recognised the Taliban regime. There have been reports that the US and its allies have prepared to impose new sanctions on the Taliban on the human rights issue. In such a situation, Russia has shown readiness to recognise the Taliban government.

But in return, Russia has demanded the Taliban hand over the weapons left behind by the US troops. The leading social media in Russia published this information. Besides, Taliban leaders were astounded by Russia’s proposal. Also, there have been claims that the Taliban has been considering Russia’s proposal.

In the Ukraine conflict, the US and European countries have been providing a huge amount of weapons to Ukraine. On the other hand, Western media have been making claims that Russia was running out of weapons. Under such circumstances, if US weapons fall into the hands of Russia through the Taliban, they are highly likely to be used against Ukraine. More than the direct impact of these weapons, this may raise the issue of the irresponsibility of the US government while withdrawing from Afghanistan. This may increase the difficulties faced by the US Biden Government.

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