13 April 2004 20:03
Afghan paper reminds Russia of liabilities before it can reclaim debt
The Russian Federation finance minister has told the US treasury secretary on the margins of the World Bank annual
meeting in Washington that Afghanistan owes the Russian Federation, the lawful heir of the former Soviet Union, 8.2bn
dollars and after this was repaid, Moscow would help Kabul in its development projects to the tune of 2bn dollars.
It is common knowledge that the Russian Federation has suffered numerous economic setbacks since the coming to power
of [Mikhail] Gorbachev due to the late Leonid Brezhnev's generosity. Moscow actually footed the bills for Cuba,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia and, last but not least, the leftist government in Afghanistan. [Passage omitted]
Kudos to Vladimir Putin for borrowing funds from the World Bank and the US and for selling unprofitable public sector
plants to revive the Soviet economy. The debt the Russian Federation owes to the US is reportedly 40bn dollars.
That is why Moscow at present is not in a position to grant Afghanistan a credit, let alone making a donation.
However, it was announced earlier that the Russian Federation would help complete the development projects it had
launched prior to the civil war in northern Afghanistan.
It is not clear whether or not this commitment would hold, considering the assertion made by the finance minister of
the Russian Federation.
The second point is that Afghanistan has suffered damages worth 860bn dollars, or thereabouts, as a result of the
unprovoked and undeclared war waged by the late Brezhnev for which none of the present Russian leaders is held
responsible.
Actually, the Afghan transitional administration has resumed its diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation on
the basis of a "tabula rasa", as if nothing has happened between us. The Russians continue to be our friendly
neighbours and we wish them good luck in their efforts to make amends.
However, claiming the credits also means accepting the liabilities. This is pure business and does not involve any
enmity or revenge-seeking.
In fact, no small, poor and half-destroyed country can be antagonistic towards an advanced powerful neighbour. We
were good friends and we still are. This is only a reminder to the finance minister of the Russia Federation as a point
to ponder.
[The Kabul Times] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
