Russia is funding Taliban to fight the Nato in Afghanistan, according to media reports.
Members of the Islamist group and Afghan officials told The Times that the Russian intelligence services are sending fuel tankers to Afghanistan via a border crossing with Uzbekistan. The tankers are delivered free of charge to front companies working for the Taliban. The Taliban receives about $2.5 million each month from the sale of the fuel.
“We sell the fuel and distribute the money directly to our commanders. Accepting money from the Russians is not something we like doing, but it is necessary at this stage of our jihad,” a Taliban treasurer told the newspaper.
“I just deal with the finances of a few Taliban commanders in one sector in one province. I transfer them the money and then account for its distribution. But there are many other people like me,” he added.
The Russians started supplying fuel 18 months ago. “At first it was just a few tankers to test the system. But then the numbers suddenly increased so that dozens were coming each month. The Russians give it all to us for free — we just pay the import duty and then keep the profits,” the treasurer said.
A senior adviser to the Quetta Shura, the Taliban faction in Pakistan, told the paper that the Russians did not have faith in Kabul to stop the rise of the Islamic State and wanted Taliban to fend the Islamists off.
He said fighting ISIS was not Russia’s only aim. Moscow was partly motivated by a wish to avenge its humiliation at the hands of Western-backed fighters over humiliating defeat by Western-backed fighters nearly 30 years ago.
“They have got three aims in dealing with us: defeat Islamic State, undermine the US-supported Afghan government and humiliate and hurt Nato,” he said.
In December 1979, Russia invaded Afghanistan. Thousands of Russian troops were killed by Afghan insurgents using weaponry supplied by the West.
