They agreed on the creation of what is described in a summit document as a “grouping of border (forces) and other institutions from CIS member states created to resolve crisis situations on the external borders”. “It is important for us to be ready to react in concert to this scenario”.
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The possible location for the deployment of joint forces is Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan.
A few analysts say that could leave room for Russian troops to be deployed to Afghanistan’s borders as part of the collective forces.
“One of their aims is to break into the Central Asian region”, Putin said of the radical groups.
Barack Obama has said United States troops would stay in Afghanistan for at least two more years – itself an admission that the Afghan government is unable to tackle the Taliban threat alone.
Russian Federation has military bases in the ex-Soviet nations of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and – with local militaries ill-equipped – many in the region look to Moscow to shore up the region’s vulnerable southern frontier with Afghanistan.
On the other side of the border, Taliban insurgents have made advances, including briefly taking over the city of Kunduz late last month.
Tajik political analyst Abdugani Mamadazimov, however, said that it is unlikely that the Kremlin will take over guarding the frontiers.
While Russian Federation is warily eyeing the upsurge in fighting in Afghanistan, its main focus remains on Syria, where it is carrying out a bombing campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Terrorists could penetrate the CIS countries from neighboring Afghanistan, he said, adding that “the situation there is indeed close to being critical”.
At the summit, Putin also said the campaign of air strikes in Syria that Russian Federation launched on September 30 has been effective.
Putin also told the meeting that a few 5,000 to 7,000 people from former Soviet states including Russian Federation, were fighting for the militant group “Islamic State”.
“We were able to establish business contacts with Middle Eastern governments and we are in negotiations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and other countries, and are attempting to establish interactions with the United States and Turkey”, he said.
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Mr Putin said the blitz would continue “for the period of the Syrian troops’ offensive operations against terrorists”, but declined to elaborate.
