Moscow, Kabul Again Hint at Afghan Accord

The Soviet Union and the government of Afghanistan have sent new signals of willingness to settle the six-year-old Afghanistan war, but the United States and Pakistan contend that no concrete concessions have been made, diplomats said Thursday.

Maneuvering in advance of a new round of U.N.-sponsored talks, Soviet and Afghan diplomats have hinted of possible compromise on several issues, including inviting opposition leaders into the pro-Moscow government in Kabul and settling a decades-old Pakistani-Afghan border dispute.

But those offers have been coupled with a demand that Pakistan negotiate directly with the Afghan regime, a move the Pakistanis and their American allies reject because it would mean recognizing the regime as legitimate.

Withdrawal Timetable

Pakistan and the United States want the Soviet Union to present a timetable for withdrawing its estimated 115,000 troops from Afghanistan, where they are fighting U.S.-backed Muslim rebels. The Soviet Union and Afghanistan have said they have prepared such a timetable--but refuse to reveal it unless Pakistan agrees to direct talks.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been negotiating indirectly, through a U.N. mediator. A new round of the indirect talks has been tentatively scheduled for the end of February.

“We think these signals are a lot of smoke and not much substance,” a State Department official said. “The key question is still whether Moscow has made the political decision to withdraw its troops, and we don’t believe that decision has been made yet.”

“We want to withdraw our troops,” a senior Soviet diplomat in Washington insisted. “But we can only do it as part of an overall settlement.” Both spoke on condition that they not be identified.

Basic Questions Remain

Behind the seemingly sterile diplomatic maneuvers lie basic questions over how soon the Soviet troops will withdraw and what kind of regime Afghanistan will have if a compromise settlement to the war can be arranged.

At the last round of indirect talks in Geneva in December, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Dost announced that he had brought a one-year timetable for a Soviet withdrawal--but he refused to reveal it unless Pakistani Foreign Minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan agreed on the spot to direct negotiations, diplomats said. The Pakistani refused.

The Soviet diplomat said that Moscow wants a “friendly, nonaligned government on our southern border.”

He said the Soviets have been urging the Kabul regime of Babrak Karmal to broaden its base, allowing traditional tribal leaders “and even members of the opposition” to share power.

In their drive to persuade Pakistan to recognize Karmal, Soviet and Afghan officials have also said that Afghanistan is willing to accept the Pakistani position on a border dispute that dates from the 1940s. The officials said Afghanistan would recognize the “Durand Line,” the border fixed by British military authorities in the 19th Century through the Khyber Pass.

A Pakistani diplomat said his government has long demanded that Afghanistan recognize the Durand Line. “It has been a source of tension for years,” he said. “But it doesn’t affect our position on the other issues.”