The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Chapter 6The Gang of FourAfter Boris Ivanov, who had never before had anything to do with the affairs of theOrient, another high-level official from Moscow was sent to Kabul. The new appointee hadno expertise on Afghanistan or any relevant issues. Vasily Stepanovich Safronchuk workedas a deputy head of the Second Department of European affairs at the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of the USSR. Professionally, he dealt mostly with Great Britain. But Gromyko, whoinvited Safronchuk for a meeting, explained to his guest that the Afghan governmentrequested a foreign policy expert who was familiar with international organizations andfluent in English.“You have been to Kabul before, have you not?” asked the minister.“Yes, I’ve been there twice on very brief visits,” responded Safronchuk. “I traveledthere once during Daoud’s rule and once again last year. Both times I visited my Afghanfriends to consult with them in regards to the sessions of the United Nations GeneralAssembly. But frankly speaking, I never had to delve deeply into the problems of theregion.”“That’s okay,” said Gromyko. “Nothing wrong with that. Tell me, which Afghanleaders did you meet last year?”“I met with Comrade Amin, the minister of foreign affairs”“And what was your impression?”Safronchuk, who was an experienced diplomat, hesitated as he considered hisresponse. But he seemed to find a suitable answer: “Within the scope of the issues that we421