Russia bolsters Northern Alliance

Anti-Taleban troika: Russia is cementing an old alliance

Russia, the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan and the Afghan opposition Northern Alliance have signed a joint statement pledging to find a political solution in Afghanistan.

The statement followed talks in the Tajik capital Dushanbe between Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmonov and the last president of Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads the Northern Alliance.

All the ethnic groups should take part in forming the next Afghan government

Joint statement issued in Dushanbe

Mr Putin voiced strong support for the Northern Alliance, promising to provide military, technical and humanitarian help for what he called Afghanistan's "legitimate" government.

Moscow has assisted the anti-Taleban alliance for many years.

But the BBC's Monica Whitlock in Dushanbe says it is unusual to hear such an open statement that Moscow wants a friendly government in Kabul.

It appears to be at odds with what the leadership in Pakistan has said it wants - and Pakistan is now a key regional ally of the United States.

Stronger UN role

The three leaders said that "all the ethnic groups should take part in forming the next Afghan government". They called for a stronger role for the United Nations "and all foreign governments" in stabilising Afghanistan.

Rabbani heads an alliance of mixed ethnicity against the mainly Pashtun Taleban

Mr Putin arrived in Tajikistan from Shanghai, where he and President George Bush declared that Washington and Russia were building a new relationship.

Our correspondent says the occasion in Dushanbe was full of symbolism, with the three leaders sitting together under their respective national flags.

President Rahmonov at one point referred to Mr Rabbani as the president of Afghanistan.

They were later joined by the military leader of the Northern Alliance, General Mohammad Qassim Fahim. Mr Putin called him the "Afghan minister of defence" - apparently not by accident.

Mr Putin ruled out any role for the Taleban in a future government, saying they were "linked with international terrorists".

Mr Rabbani was ousted by the Taleban in 1996 but is still recognised as Afghanistan's president by the United Nations and most states.

The Northern Alliance still holds a swathe of northeastern Afghanistan.

About 25,000 Russian troops are stationed in Tajikistan to help guard its 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) border with Afghanistan.