Afghanistan on Saturday marked the 31st anniversary of the last Soviet soldier leaving the country.
This year’s anniversary came as the United States negotiates its own exit after 18 years of war, America’s longest.
Some of the same Afghan insurgent leaders who drove out the former Soviet Union have been fighting the U.S., and have had prominent seats at the negotiating table during yearlong talks with Washington’s peace envoy.
Moscow pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, a decade after invading the country to support an allied communist government.
Afghan Mujaheddin, or holy warriors, received weapons and training from the U.S. throughout the 1980s to fight the Red Army.
Some of those Mujaheddin went on to form the Taliban.
With the Cold War over, the U.S. lost interest in Afghanistan. The U.S. and the Taliban agreed Friday to a temporary truce.
If successful, it could open the way for another historic withdrawal that would see all American troops leave the country.
The Taliban are now at their strongest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan ousted them from power.
Kabul’s streets were quiet Saturday, normally the busy start of the Afghan workweek.
There were no official public celebrations marking the anniversary, and most people took the holiday off.
It’s unclear when newly brokered truce will take effect.
The peace deal would call for negotiations between Afghans on both sides of the conflict to start next month. It would also set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, and a commitment from the Taliban not to harbor terrorist groups like al-Qaida.
