we're joined by andrey kortunov.of the international affairs council, the international think tank. i want to know what signal russia and the kremlin take from the u.s. withdrawal. do they read this as saying that the u.s. will not or is reluctant to defend allies abroad? >> well, i think that the u.s. withdrawal was anticipated in moscow, but they postured the speed at which the united states decided to withdraw from afghanistan, and the whole operation was, of course, a surprise. i think that it is clearly apparent to those who believe that the united states continues to be on decline and that all this talk is nothing more than talk. of course, it raises the issue of credibility of the united states as a strategic ally, but at the same time it means that the challenge of afghanistan has been passed from global powers to regional powers. so russia should take part of a responsibility for what's going on in the country or what's going on around the country. of course, together without a place like china or pakistan a