Sergei Ivanov Inspirational Quotes (3)

We have put the Cold War behind us. We no longer count our divisions and our warheads. And I am Russia's first civilian defense minister in many centuries. We have become more pragmatic.

Moscow has been helping the Northern Alliance because the Taliban was openly supported by Pakistan... until last week, Pakistani servicemen had taken part in war operations on the Taliban side.

It is painful to talk about it, but even with its 110,000 elite soldiers, the Soviet Union never managed to gain control over the entire Afghan territory.