AfPak: Supplies via Russia; Karzai working with Obama; Pakistan's "survival"?

Lots happening.

1) Russians seem be playing very nice for the moment:

US supplies via Russia to start soon

The shipment of U.S. military supplies for Afghanistan through Russia will begin soon, news agencies quoted Russia's foreign minister as saying Saturday.

"The transit will take place literally within days," Sergey Lavrov told TV Tsentr, according to the Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti agencies.

Foreign Ministry officials could not be reached for comment late Saturday, and the reports did not say whether the supplies would transit Russia by land or air. However, Russia announced last week that it would allow U.S. shipments of non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan.

Supply routes to Afghanistan for the U.S.-led international military operation have become an increasingly critical issue in recent months amid growing militant attacks on the land routes through Pakistan that carry about 75 percent of U.S. supplies...

After agreeing this month to the transit of non-lethal U.S. supplies to Afghanistan, Lavrov raised the prospect that Russia could also agree to allow the transshipment of U.S. armaments _ presumably in exchange for U.S. concessions such as backing off from support for NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine and from the proposals to put elements of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Kremlin last year signed a framework deal with NATO for transit of non-lethal cargo for coalition forces in Afghanistan and has allowed some alliance members, including Germany, France and Spain, to move supplies across its territory [emphasis added].

Ground routes through Russia would likely cross into Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan before entering northern Afghanistan.

The U.S. has reached a preliminary deal with Kazakhstan to use its territory, and officials have said they are considering resuming military cooperation with Uzbekistan, which neighbors Afghanistan.

That option is problematic for Washington: Uzbekistan kicked U.S. forces out of a base there after sharp U.S. criticism of the country's human rights record and the government's brutal quashing of a 2005 uprising.

Renewing those ties would also open the United States to new accusations it is working with an authoritarian government that tortures its citizens. Uzbekistan also has in the past faced a low-level insurgency from Islamic radicals, though a government crackdown has quelled much of it.

2) President Karzai gets around the rather unilateral approach the Obama administration has been taking towards AfPak policy (though one wonders how much influence the Afghans will really have):

US to include Afghans in review

Afghanistan will send a team to the US to take part in a major policy review of the region, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has announced.

In a joint news conference with the new US envoy in the region, Richard Holbrooke, Mr Karzai said he was "very thankful" to be involved in the talks.

In recent weeks US officials have been critical of Mr Karzai's leadership.

US President Barack Obama, who regards Afghanistan as a priority, accused his government of being "very detached".

The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says Mr Karzai and Mr Holbrooke appeared keen to smooth over any apparent discord at the news conference on Sunday.

But our correspondent says it is widely thought that Mr Karzai is no longer popular in the White House - and it may take more than a news conference to change that perception...

Mr Holbrooke said he hoped at least one senior US official would be in Afghanistan every month "to find ways to improve our joint effort".

Meanwhile, Mr Karzai said he had requested permission to send a delegation to the US as part of Obama government's review.

"I'm very very thankful that President Obama has accepted my proposal of Afghanistan joining the strategic review of the war against terrorism in the United States," Mr Karzai said.

3) And the Pakistani PM concedes his country is in serious trouble (though I can't see the Taliban really threatening government power in Punjab or Sindh provinces):

Pakistan 'in fight for survival'

Pakistan's president says his country is fighting for its survival against the Taleban, whose influence he said has spread deep into the country.

In an interview with US TV channel CBS, President Asif Zardari said the Taleban had established a presence across "huge parts" of Pakistan.

The country had failed to increase its forces in response, he said...

In his interview with CBS, which is due to be broadcast on Sunday [Feb. 15 on"60 Minutes" - MC], Mr Zardari rejected any notion that Pakistan was battling the Taleban on behalf of the US.

"We're not doing anybody a favour," he said.

"We are aware of the fact [the Taleban are] trying to take over the state of Pakistan," he said.

"So, we're fighting for the survival of Pakistan. We're not fighting for the survival of anybody else."

He also said the Taleban had extended its presence from the tribal areas to Pakistan's larger cities.

"[The Taleban] do have a presence in huge amounts of land in our side," he said, according to excerpts of the the interview.

"It's been happening over time and it's happened out of denial. Everybody was in denial."

He said that many people had thought of the Taleban: "They're weak and they won't be able to take over… they won't be able to give us a challenge.

"And our forces weren't increased… we have weaknesses and they are taking advantage of that weakness."..