SG Spokesperson abstains from commenting on Afghanistan’s Bagram base
Regional Powers and Taliban Push Back Against U.S. Troop Redeployment in Afghanistan. How does the SG respond?
United Nations
Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali
Regional countries including Russia, India, Pakistan, and China convened on Tuesday at the Moscow Forum of Consultations. In a joint press statement, the forum reaffirmed its ‘unwavering support for Afghanistan and its new governance’ and expressed unified opposition to any return of U.S. military presence in the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the redeployment of American troops and the regaining of control over Bagram, a town in eastern Afghanistan that previously hosted a U.S. airbase. Following the full U.S. withdrawal in 2021 under the Biden administration, Trump has argued that reclaiming Bagram is strategically linked to countering China, noting last month in London that the base is ‘an hour away from where [China] makes its nuclear weapons.’
Members of the Global South rejected the proposal, warning it could ‘threaten broader regional peace and stability.’ The Taliban echoed these concerns, with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi declaring that Afghanistan will not accept any foreign military presence. With Trump having recently threatened that “bad things” would happen if Afghanistan did not hand back Bagram, how does the United Nations respond to these escalating tensions?
