The decision of the 1989 Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union to condemn sending Soviet troops to Afghanistan was historically unfair, according to the draft statement of the Russian State Duma planned to be approved by the 30th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal of Afghanistan on February 15, 2019.
The document designed to provide new political assessment of participation of Soviet troops in the Afghan war in 1979-1989, was approved at parliamentary hearings yesterday.
"On this day, the State Duma considers it necessary to recognize as inconsistent with the principles of historical justice the moral and political condemnation of the decision to send troops to Afghanistan in December 1979 expressed in the resolution of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union from 24 December 1989," the draft statement said.
"It is necessary to proceed from the fact that the decision to send limited contingent of Soviet troops to Afghanistan was made in December 1979 in accordance with the Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborly Relations and Cooperation between the Soviet Union and the Demoractic Republic of Afghanistan and taking into account multiple requests of Afghanistan's leadership for direct Soviet intervention into the conflict," TASS cited the statement as saying.
State Duma members emphasized that they "remain committed supporters of strengthening friendly and good neighborly relations with all peoples and are ready to direct their efforts at basing Russian-Afghan relations exclusively on the striving for comprehensive cooperation for the benefit of the peoples" of Russia and Afghanistan and countries.
"State Duma members are convince that tragic events of the military conflict in Afghanistan should be considered on the basis of political impartiality and historical truth. Careful and detailed study of Russian-Afghan history will facilitate full-scale restoration of bilateral relations," the draft reads.
