Interaction with Delegates

Talking about the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Russia, I said that this step had been a mistake. Mr. Gorbachev replied that they had only wanted co-operation from their neighbouring countries. I responded by saying that co-operation is good, but it is possible only using peaceful means, not military means. I further stated that Soviet Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan had been a severe challenge to the Afghans. The culture of the Afghans is a war culture. To solve problems, they always think in terms of violence. Thus, they had replied to the Soviet military action through counter-military action. In addition, some other factors worked in favour of the Afghans. Thus, after suffering heavy losses, the Soviets had to pull out of Afghanistan. Another issue that we talked about was how in contemporary terrorism, a large share is that of Muslims. I said that this point is valid but that these were the actions of some Muslims. They had no relation with Islam and that Islam is an entirely peaceful religion. In this regard, I referred to some Quranic verses. A lady seated at the dinner table mentioned Mr. Gorbachev’s late wife, Raisa. I told Mr. Gorbachev that ‘Raisa’ appeared to be a Muslim name and asked