 Soviet General Vasily Zaplatin, a political advisor of Premier Brezhnev at the time, claimed that four of President Taraki's ministers were responsible for the destabilization.However, Zaplatin failed to emphasize this in discussions and was not heard.During meetings between President Taraki and Soviet leaders in March 1979, the Soviets promised political support and to send military equipment and technical specialists, but upon repeated requests by Taraki for direct Soviet intervention, the leadership adamantly opposed him; reasons included that they would be met with "bitter resentment" from the Afghan people, that intervening in another country's civil war would hand a propaganda victory to their opponents, and Afghanistan's overall inconsequential weight in international affairs, in essence realizing they had little to gain by taking over a country with a poor economy, unstable government, and population hostile to outsiders.