The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

discussed, Comrade Amin appeared to be a competent and energetic leader.”“That’s good,” said the minister with satisfaction. “You may consider our offer.However, we would like your response by tomorrow. The Afghan side insists that we actupon their request as soon as possible. By the way, you will receive the rank of diplomaticadviser, with direct access to me when addressing important issues.”Later, Safronchuk understood why the foreign minister had selected him inparticular. When he arrived in Kabul, Ambassador Puzanov let it slip that it was HafizullahAmin’s wish. Amin had liked the Soviet diplomat when he visited Kabul in August 1978. Hewas impressed by Safronchuk’s erudition, his manners, and his fluency in English. Aminhimself, after studying in the United States, spoke English well, but he didn’t know Russianat all.Preparing for the trip, Vasily Stepanovich remembered details from his first meetingwith the Afghan minister of foreign affairs. At the time they were discussing issues relatedto the forthcoming session of the UN General Assembly and the positions of the USSR andthe DRA. On most issues, the two countries’ positions were aligned. However, Safronchuknoticed that in some areas, Afghanistan’s position was closer to that of the Non-AlignedMovement, of which it was a member. That appeared quite natural to Safronchuk; however,Amin, to his surprise, disagreed.“I don’t consider it to be natural,” he protested. “Afghanistan entered on the path ofbuilding socialism, and politically it is now closer to the socialist countries than to the Non-Aligned Movement.”Afterwards, the minister scolded his deputy, the professional diplomat ShahMohammad Dost, who, in Amin’s opinion, did not give these core changes in Afghan foreign422