THINKING AHEAD

Russia Considering Afghan Border Patrol

In anticipation of instability following NATO withdrawal.

Russia is concerned about what kind of instability awaits once the last NATO-led troops have left Afghanistan next year. According to a new report Friday, the nation is considering sending its own security agents to monitor the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Moscow is allegedly most concerned about drugs and terrorists making their way from Afghanistan to Russia through the former Soviet nations—which stand between them. “We prefer to tackle this problem on the Afghan border to stop these threats,” Ambassador Andrey Avetisyan said at the Russian Embassy in Kabul late Thursday. “We used to have a serious presence on the Afghan-Tajik border … and the situation there was much better, so it would be in the interest of both Russia and Tajikistan and even Afghanistan if Russia is present there.”