On November 7, AFPC Senior Fellow for Eurasia Svante Cornell testified at a Joint Subcommittee hearing convened by the Subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives. The subject of the hearing was Russia’s complicated role in global counter-terrorism efforts.
Cornell’s testimony emphasized the long-standing Russian interaction with extremist and terrorist groups. In particular, Cornell highlighted the Russian manipulation of both ethnic nationalist and Islamist groups, both at home and abroad. This includes the Russian infiltration of and collusion with extremist elements of the insurgency in Chechnya, and its growing relationship over the last decade with the Taliban in Afghanistan. On this basis, Cornell argued, the prospects of counter-terrorist cooperation with Russia remain dim as long as Moscow sees countering the influence of the United States as a higher policy priority than countering the influence of terrorist organizations.
