Crimea: Kabul Recognizes Crimean Annexation; India Arrests Alleged Terrorists; Pakistani Peace Committees to Meet This Week

Mar 24, 2014 | Bailey Cahall and Ana Swanson, Foreign Policy
View Original

In a snub to its Western backers, Afghanistan joined Syria and Venezuela this weekend to become one of the few countries to publicly support Russia's recent annexation of Crimea (TOLO News). On Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office released a statement saying: "[W]e respect the decision the people of Crimea took through a recent referendum that considers Crimea as part of the Russian Federation" (NYT). In an email to the New York Times, Aimal Faizi, Karzai's spokesman, argued that the Russian annexation of Crimea was a "legitimate move" and that "Afghanistan always respects the free will of the nations on deciding their future."