ИСТИНА

The coming to power in Afghanistan of the Taliban government puts China and Russia before a difficult choice. On the one hand, the Taliban organization is recognized as terrorist and undesirable; on the other hand, both Russia and China want to ensure stability in the region. China is extremely interested in completing the construction of the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan logistics corridor, as well as the development of the largest copper ore deposit in Eurasia in Afghanistan. Another Chinese interest is to establish control over the development of rare earth metals in Afghanistan so that China can finally monopolize this market. Russia is concerned about fundamentalist Islamic sentiments entering both Russia and Tajikistan. Both Russia and China also consider discussing these issues within the SCO.