Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that terrorists could potentially be posing as refugees in order to infiltrate neighboring countries in Central Asia after the Taliban’s capture of Afghanistan.
Lavrov made these remarks during a meeting with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors (China, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
“The current task on the agenda is to ease the effects of and control migration flows from Afghanistan, because terrorist and criminal elements posing as refugees may infiltrate neighboring countries and have already been trying to do so,” declared Lavrov.
The Russian Foreign Minister also urged Central Asian countries to resist NATO and United States efforts to establish a military presence on their territories.
Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a leading diplomat cautioned that “not even tanks” can put the brakes on a potentially large wave of Afghan refugees making their way to Europe.
Security pundits have also warned that ISIS-K is reportedly planning to take advantage of a new refugee wave to smuggle terrorists into the western countries to recreate the chaotic conditions of the infamous migrant crisis of 2015.
For those with short-term memory, there were numerous Islamist-inspired terror attacks throughout Europe from 2015 until the present that were carried out by both refugees and Islamic migrants who have settled down, yet not assimilated into European society. This series of violence galvanized populist movements throughout the Old Continent and brought the immigration question to the fore of national discussion throughout the EU.
Russia, unlike other European countries and the rest of the West, does understand the perils of mass migration and too much diversity. It got embroiled in brutal military conflicts against its Chechen constituents, who are of predominantly Islamic confession. In sum, Russia knows a thing or two about dealing with Islamism within its borders and why importing large, indigestible swathes of Islamic migrants could create large degrees of instability.
Europe and the rest of the West would be wise to recalibrate relations with Russia so that these countries can work together to prevent transnational Islamic terrorism.
