Political Analyst Says Russia Has To Toughen Control Over Its Southern Borders

Russia has to take "tougher measures" to guard its southern borders and borders of its allies from Taliban infiltration in case they be defeated, Gleb Pavlovsky, president of the Effective Policy Foundation, said at a press conference Wednesday. According to him, the southern borders of Russia and of "certain Transcaucasian republics" are among possible "retreat avenues" for the Taliban if the US anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan is a success. According to Pavlovsky, the Taliban can move to the Fergana valley of Uzbekistan which can turn into a new hot spot. "Several conflict centres may emerge, and if there are too many of them, it will become virtually impossible to keep the situation under control," he says. Pavlovsky predicts political destabilization in some of the CIS regions and possible spread of Islamic extremism in Ukraine.