Worried about Islamic infiltration into former Soviet satellites near Afghanistan, 71-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the United State and NATO to keep troops away from the former Soviet satellites. With the U.S. pulling out of Afghanistan Aug. 31, the Taliban government has made zero effort to contain al-Qaeda and Islamic State [IS] terrorists seeking safe harbor inside Afghan’s territory. Kremlin officials expressed concern about the growing possibility that Islamic terrorists could breach Russian allies and end up in Moscow, where Chechen terrorist have run amok at different times. “We . . . call on Afghanistan’s neighboring countries no to allow a military presence of U.S. and NATO forces which plan to move there after leaving Afghan territory,” Lavrov said. Lavrov has also issued warnings to Ukraine to stop asking NATO for membership.
Lavrov echoes the position of 69-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin who also said that any attempt by Ukraine to join NATO would be taken seriously by Moscow, including possible annexation of Ukrainian territory, especially the border in what’s called the pro-Russian Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky has begged NATO to admit Ukraine in the Transatlantic Alliance, all because Zelensky would like to trigger NATO’s mutual defense provision. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stotenberg has resisted U.S. and Ukraine pressure for NATO membership, largely because in violates NATO’s charter to adopt any new country that’s currently engaged in armed conflict. Since 2014, Ukraine claims it’s lost 14,000 soldiers. Yet President Joe Biden and Zelensky have hounded NATO for Ukraine membership.
When it comes to the end of the Afghan War, Lavrov wants to make sure that Russia is the predominant influence in the region. Putin has no interest in ceding influence to the U.S. since they can no longer base U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base, now looking for alternatives in neighboring countries. Lavrov spoke via video conference to defense ministers held in Tehran, attended by China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all of which have joined a new military alliance to confront growing U.S. influence. Lavrov used the Tehran security conference to disrupt U.S. influence, looking for a coalition to confront growing meddling. Russia and China have find themselves on the defensive with the Biden administration, listenting to Biden and 58-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses both nations of genocide and human rights abuses.
Putin and Lavrov aren’t concerned about terrorist infiltration into former Soviet satellites, they’re concerned about U.S. encroachment. Biden has held two summits with Russia and China, trying to find some common ground but only finding the U.S. State Department slamming Moscow and Beijing for human rights abuses.. Putin has thrown down the gauntlet to the U.S. about accusations of human rights’ abuses, refuting Western accusation of using Soviet-era Novichok to assassinate former Soviet and Russian agents, now living outside the former Soviet Union or other Russian territories. Since taking office Jan. 20, Biden has alienated Russia and China to the point they’ve created new alliances against the U.S. It’s no accident that China didn’t take lightly the U.S. decision to sell nuclear powered submarines to Australia to patrol the Pacific Rim and South China Sea.
When it comes to Russia, Biden has alienated Putin, calling him a “soulless killer” March 16, only two days later telling a Chinese delegation in Anchorage, Alaska that Beijing has committed genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province in Western China. Both Russia and China are at their wit’s end with Biden, now hearing about Pentagon plans to open up military installations in former Soviet satellites. When it comes to Ukraine, Putin has issued his strongest warnings to the U.S. and NATO, saying he would take draconic actions if Ukraine is allowed to join the Transatlantic Alliance. Russia houses its warm water fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, having no intent of returning Crimea to Kiev. Putin wants Zelensky to stop threatening NATO membership and work with Moscow to find a solution that works for both countries without U.S. or NATO meddling.
Russia and China have now joined Iran to confront U.S. influence in the Persian Gulf, where 25% of the world’s petroleum flows through the Strait of Hormuz. All the threats against Russia and China have pushed both superpowers into an alliance to protect their geopolitical interests. Biden and Blinken have pushed Beijing to stop annexing territory in the South China Sea, where China has built military instillation in the shallow reefs off the Spartly Islands in the South China Sea. Biden’s decision to sell Australia nuclear-powered submarines infuriated France, with whom Australia has a prior deal for diesel-fired subs, pushing Beijing to partner with Russia for an unlikely military alliance. If Biden and Blinken continue to antagonize Russia and China, it’s going to push the U.S. into another unwanted war, perhaps defending Taiwan from China’s blatant aggression and bullying.
