Russian President Dmitri MedvedevRia Novosti / Dmitry Astakhov / Presidential Press Service / AP
From Time Magazine:
On July 30, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev sat down for talks with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, two countries that sit in the crosshairs of the U.S.-led war on terror. The meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Zardari, took place in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan. Reportedly on the table were plans to beef up trade ties as well as improve cooperation in the fight against Islamist extremism — clear signs, experts say, that Moscow is bolstering its role in the "Af-Pak" theater, a region Russia had largely retreated from after the scarring decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
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My Comment: After almost 8 years of standing by the sidelines and permitting the U.S. to do what they want in Central Asia, the Russians are now of the opinion that unlike President Bush, President Obama will lay the groundwork to leave Afghanistan when the conflict on the ground starts to become politically unfavorable to him.
The Russians are (now) just simply positioning themselves for the day when the Americans leave Afghanistan, which (if my friends in Russia are to be believed) will start in 2012.