AFGHANISTAN-RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY

Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Alexander Mantytskiy (centre L) and Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar (centre R) gather around a Russian aircraft during a ceremony at a military airfield in Kabul on February 24, 2016. Russia delivered 10,000 Kalashnikovs to the Afghan government on February 24, with officials saying they were for the fight "against terrorism", a day after the capital hosted talks trying to revive the peace process with the Taliban. The Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan from 1979 until 1989, in a conflict in which the Russian-made AK-47 rifle was widely used -- with an estimated one million civilians killed during the war as well as tens of thousands of fighters from both sides. AFP PHOTO / SHAH Marai / AFP / SHAH MARAI (Photo credit should read SHAH MARAI/AFP via Getty Images)