Events described in N. I. Kozyrev "The role of Diplomacy in unblocking the "Afghan Hub": from Geneva-88 to the Present Day", published by the Institute of Actual International Problems (IAMP) of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry (Moscow, East-West. 2009. 208 p), refer to one of the most dramatic periods in the history of Afghanistan.

The civil war, compounded by a 10-year foreign military presence, has turned the country into a hotbed of instability and terrorism, which it continues to be to this day. The relevance of the problem under consideration is that it directly affects the interests of today's Russia, as well as the main players involved in Afghan affairs, especially after the occupation of Afghanistan as a result of the operation of international coalition forces against the Taliban regime.

The importance of the study lies in the fact that it examines and analyzes in detail the role of diplomacy in the political settlement of the situation around Afghanistan, and shows the advantage of political means over military methods of crisis resolution. The author, using a wealth of practical and research material, very thoroughly illustrated the entire Geneva negotiation process, for the first time showed the pros and cons of the agreements reached, their significance for the fate of Afghanistan.

Of particular interest is the author's attempt to bridge the gap from the events of 20 years ago to the present day of Afghanistan, when it is again occupied by foreign troops and where civil war is again raging. N. I. Kozyrev makes a reasonable conclusion that the lessons of "Geneva" were not taken into account by those forces that are trying to assert their monopoly right to the fate of other peoples and impose their own model of democracy on them.

The harmfulness of relying on military force to the detriment of diplomacy is quite fully reflected in the part of the work that relates to the current situation in Afghanistan.

The reliability of scientific results and the validity of theoretical propositions and conclusions is achieved by using a large number of methods in the work.

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the number of documents and publications, as well as eyewitness accounts of what happened, which include the author himself.

In this regard, the personal observations of N. I. Kozyrev, who was a direct participant in the Geneva talks for 5 years, deserve attention. These observations formed the basis for the analysis of the political settlement process in Afghanistan. The second chapter of the book is of particular importance for diplomats and all those involved in international negotiations by profession. It examines in detail the entire history of the negotiation process on the "Afghan dossier", ways and means of unleashing the "Afghan knot". The moves and maneuvers used by the negotiators described in the book provide an opportunity to assess the complexity and versatility of the multilateral dialogue conducted by the countries involved in the Afghan crisis. Of clear interest is the part of the chapter where the negotiations are interpreted and evaluated by the UN Secretary-General's Representative for Afghanistan, D. Cordovez,who served as a mediator.

The main advantage of this paper is its applied nature: its provisions and conclusions can be used by international scientists and political scientists, as well as in the practical work of the Russian Foreign Ministry and other interested Russian ministries and departments.

The book is also intended for those readers in Russia and abroad who are interested in the political situation in the world, especially in such hot spots as Afghanistan, where the situation continues to escalate.

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