Valdai Club

US policy in Afghanistan is a sore subject. First of all, it is unpleasant for the Americans themselves. Started as a counter-terrorist operation against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which were allied with it (banned in the Russian Federation), it has gone through many stages. State building, an infrastructure hub, the creation of a democratic society, a bridgehead for the influence of "enlightened humanity" in the Middle East and much more.

The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, which for a time occupied the minds of the world's political elites, did not justify the timid hopes that it could provide some kind of healing effect, mitigating the overwhelmingly high degree of tensions in international relations. The pandemic only superficially and briefly distracted the attention of the public, the media and the Internet. The processes themselves, both at the global and regional levels, followed their own course, evolving towards further uncertainties and new challenges.