The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

him as though considering their contents. The face of Minister of Foreign Affairs Gromykodropped. Ambassador Puzanov first turned white, then a deep red hue.Rurikov quickly approached Gromyko to remind him that they had agreed withAmin in Kabul that the interpretation was to be from Dari into Russian. Gromyko, who wasvery sensitive about following protocol, mumbled that he remembered that agreementvery well. Then Andrei Andreyevich whispered into Ponomaryov’s ear, “Sure, signagreements with such fellows. Today they will sign them, and tomorrow they’ll violatethem.”The artillery captain, who appeared crushed by the responsibility bestowed uponhim by the “Great Leader,” mixing up political and legal terminology, began to interpret. Itwas a pitiful scene. Gromyko, feeling offended, addressed the captain. “Speak louder. Yourwords are unclear.” However, this made the officer even more nervous, and his quakingvoice was hardly audible. Then Andrei Andreyevich said very loudly, “It seems thatcomrade interpreter did not eat enough kasha!” The members of the Soviet delegationsmiled sarcastically. Then Gromyko whispered to his assistant, asking if there was aqualified specialist in the Foreign Ministry who knew Pashto. The assistant consulted withGavrilov. Yes, there was such a person; however, at this time he was studying at theDiplomatic Academy. “Find him and bring him to the Kremlin immediately,” snapped theminister of foreign affairs.Vladimir Kozin, a graduate student at the Diplomatic Academy, was one of the fewpeople in the Soviet Union who had perfect command of this rare and difficult language.Kozin himself could hardly believe the fact that he was the single expert in Pashto.Pashtuns were the main ethnic group in Afghanistan. They comprised the majority of the260