Alliance on presence of Russian soldiers

(29 Nov 2001) 1. Russian soldier on duty 2. Camouflage nets and vehicles at compound 3. Soldiers on guard 4. Various soldiers in street 5. Kabul resident walks by 6. Soldier and Kabul resident 7. Abdullah Tauhaidi, Northern Alliance Military Commander, at desk 8. Hand writing 9. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Abdullah Tauhaidi, Northern Alliance Military Commander "We've had relations with Russia and other countries of course because we are the government." 10. Soldiers patrolling 11. Soldiers behind netting 12. People looking at soldiers 13. Afghan soldier 14. Soldier talking to people 15. Russian soldiers in a row 16. Close up soldier 17. Afghans watching soldiers patrolling 18. Truck drives past STORYLINE: The Northern Alliance says they accept the presence of the Russians in Kabul and have been in contact with them. The mujahadeen, which fought to throw out the Russians, included soldiers who now belong to the Northern Alliance, or United Front. But since the Taliban took over, the Russian government supported the United Front's fight against the extremist leadership. Hence the welcome now being given to Russian troops in Kabul, who are reportedly laying the ground work for the construction of a new embassy. Uniformed Russians with Kalashnikov assault rifles are still patrol the site, but officials are not commenting on the mission. Earlier this week, about 500 Russian troops, diplomats, security personnel and aid workers arrived in Kabul. The soldiers have aroused the curiosity of local people but the soldiers who were on guard on Thursday made sure no one could get close to the compound. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...