DEFEAT OF KABUL LEADERS SCUTTLES PACT WITH MOSCOW.

Tajik presidential spokesman Zafar Saidov told Russian correspondents yesterday that the defeat of the Afghan authorities in Kabul may have "destroyed" Moscow’s and Dushanbe’s agreement with those authorities to cooperate against the Tajik opposition on the Tajik-Afghan border. Dushanbe "had hoped to turn that border into one of peace and friendship" but is now "alarmed by potential region-wide tremors" following the Taliban movement’s capture of Kabul, the spokesman said. The statement echoes Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov’s and other Moscow officials’ expressions of concern. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s Third Asian Department chief, Rashid Hamidulin (as cited) said yesterday that Moscow lacks accurate information about the latest developments around Kabul and in northern Afghanistan, and does not yet know the intentions of the runaway Afghan leaders, President Burhanuddin Rabbani and Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. They had recently concluded the pact with Moscow.

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions