We've been in Afghanistan, we didn't like it - Russia's NATO envoy

We've been in Afghanistan, we didn't like it - Russia's NATO envoy

October 27, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- Russia's envoy to NATO on Wednesday dismissed reports that Russian troops could be sent back to Afghanistan two decades after the Soviet Union's Red Army was forced out by U.S.-backed mujahedeen.

"We've already been in Afghanistan and we didn't like it much," Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti.
The UK newspaper The Guardian said on Tuesday the proposal was on the table ahead of a landmark Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon next month.

The paper said Moscow and Brussels were discussing joint initiatives including "the contribution of Russian helicopters and crews to train Afghan pilots, possible Russian assistance in training Afghan national security forces, increased co-operation on counter-narcotics and border security, and improved transit and supply routes for NATO forces."

"Maybe someone wants Russia to supply cannon fodder to Afghanistan," Rogozin went on.

The Soviet Union was involved in a bitter decade-long conflict in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. A million Afghan civilians and fighters are estimated to have lost their lives during the fighting. Some 15,000 Soviet soldiers also perished, and the return of Russian soldiers to the country would also be extremely unpopular in Russia.

The war had a profound impact on the Soviet Union, and has been cited as one of the key factors in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Rogozin also said that Russia-NATO cooperation in Afghanistan consisted of training for Afghan and Pakistan police involved in the fight against drugs, transit and "the implementation of the so-called helicopter package."

Russia is competing for a U.S. tender to supply Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan.

Russian crews will train Afghan pilots, but not in Afghanistan, Rogozin said. He also said that the issue of improved transit arrangements "has never been raised."

BRUSSELS, October 27 (RIA Novosti)

Russia-NATO summit to contribute to European security – Rogozin

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to the military alliance

October 19, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) — A forthcoming Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon will help Russia find common ground with its European neighbors on the issue of European security, a Russian envoy to NATO said on Tuesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier on Tuesday that he would attend the Russia-NATO summit on November 20, part of NATO Lisbon summit on November 19-20.

“Emphasis will be placed on the Russian ideas, on Russia’s proposals and on our vision of the future of Europe,” Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television news channel.

President Medvedev proposed drawing up a new European security pact in June 2008, and Russia published a draft of the treaty in December 2009, sending copies to heads of state and international organizations, including NATO. However, the proposal has been met coolly by Western powers.

“This is a chance for us and a chance for the West to try to find common interests at a political level and try not just to hold talks, but also to do something together to deter threats,” Rogozin said.

Rogozin earlier said he hoped the Russian-NATO Council summit in Lisbon would help clarify preparations for the European missile defense plan.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has repeatedly said that NATO wants Russia to be part of a missile defense plan for Europe, but Russia says a serious assessment of missile risks should be carried out before starting on the project.

MOSCOW, October 19 (RIA Novosti)