Russian Ambassador Antonov, American diplomat Khalilzad, and American-Russian political scientist Dmitry Simes dined at Cafe Milano in Washington.
Author: Andrey Serenko, Director of the Analytical Center of the Russian Society of Political Scientists
Source: telegram - channel "Andrey Serenko"
Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born American diplomat, is trying to play the role of mediator between Washington and Moscow by asking the Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov to have dinner with his Ukrainian counterpart. When will the Taliban appear in the intrigue?
Therefore, Politico threw a new intrigue into the media space - the Russian ambassador Antonov, the American diplomat Khalilzad and the American-Russian political scientist Dmitry Simes dined at the Cafe Milano in Washington. The topic of the conversation is the search for a formula for restoring relations between Russia and the United States, as well as ending the war in Ukraine.
What is interesting for us here? First of all, of course, the mediation of Khalilzad, the man who orchestrated the US deal with the Taliban in Doha in 2021, resulted in the transfer of Afghanistan to the control of the Taliban.
The appearance of the figure of Khalilzad in the "great game" in Ukraine may mean, in addition to some other nuances (an explanation of the reasons for the "unsinkability" of Zamir Kabulov, who failed the Afghan direction in Russian foreign policy, but still remains in a military post in the Russian Foreign Ministry, perhaps not only due to the patronage of some curious figures in the top Russian establishment (and this is not Putin), but also because of the special relationship with Zalmay Khalilzad), the possibility of intersecting with the "big game" in Afghanistan.
The Khalilzad clan has significant private commercial and political interests in Afghanistan. If Zalmay Khalilzad did not just come to eat with Mr. Antonov once but is introduced into the game seriously and for a long time, then it can be assumed that in the intrigue of "achieving peace in Ukraine" and "restoring mutual understanding" between Washington and Moscow, the topic of "returning to cooperation" will soon appear in the Afghan direction.
Moreover, there are already well-established traditions here. And the point is not only that Russia has been quite actively assisting the US and NATO operations in Afghanistan for about a decade, providing its airspace and ground capabilities (a logistics hub in Ulyanovsk) for the supply infrastructure of the US and NATO Afghan grouping.
Russian diplomacy was instrumental in helping the US reach the first deal with the Taliban, which was struck in the Qatari capital a year and a half ago. Within the framework of this cooperation, personal relations between Zalmay Khalilzad and Zamir Kabulov, the special envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, were formed and strengthened. If it were not for the game of Russian diplomacy in the Afghan direction that supports the line of Washington, it is still unknown how long it would have taken the Americans to force the Taliban to sign peace with the United States.
It is hard to say, however, what good Russia got for itself as a result of this brilliant joint game between the team Khalilzad and the team Kabulov. However, it is not customary to voice such questions in the apparatus and political culture that has developed in the Russian Federation. According to the evil Afghan tongues, the main participants in the joint Russian-American intrigue did not remain at a loss. And, most importantly, personal contacts have been preserved, which, it seems, can now also be activated. Moreover, not only for the sake of peace in Ukraine.
Today the US is trying to make a second political deal with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. One can easily assume the interest in this game of Zalmay Khalilzad, who, for personal reasons, is extremely interested in strengthening the Taliban regime (albeit at the cost of some of its transformation). The transformation of the Taliban regime is also promoted by official Washington, which is looking for a new optimal model of dominating influence on Afghanistan. At the same time, the American side emphasizes its interest in keeping the Taliban regime in power, while at the same time sending a signal to the Afghan anti-Taliban resistance about the inadmissibility of an armed struggle against the Taliban dictatorship in Kabul.
By the way, it is easy to see that the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which Zamir Kabulov still formulates in the Afghan direction, practically does not differ from the American one.
If you remove all this propaganda ritual anti-American chatter that obfuscates the real actions responsible for Afghan officials from Smolenskaya Square, then you will not find a single fundamental difference in the Russian and American approaches to the Taliban regime in Kabul. In addition, probably, it is not accidental.
Why is it all? The fact that no matter what Zalmay Khalilzad does, no matter what he talks about with any ambassadors in Washington catering establishments, he will always keep in mind his personal interest. And this interest in Afghanistan.
In this regard, it can be assumed that if acts of gastronomic diplomacy continue with the participation of Russian representatives and Zalmay Khalilzad, then we should expect the emergence of a new project of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States in the Afghan direction, which will be an addition to the intrigue in Ukraine. For example, the White House is beginning to adjust its anti-Russian line on the Ukrainian track, in return for receiving Russian support in achieving a second deal with the Taliban. With the added bonus of, for example, a small and almost non-military presence in one of the beautiful republics of Central Asia.
According to rumors, Moscow has previously offered Washington to "exchange" Afghanistan for Ukraine. Then this proposal did not find demand in the White House. Not the fact that now everything will turn out cloudlessly. However, an attempt by some players in both capitals to link the Ukrainian and Afghan (Taliban) cases into one project seems to be taking place.
