Putin called the Taliban “an ally in the fight against terrorism.”
Russia's Supreme Court in April removed the Taliban's designation as a “terrorist organization,” and Moscow has stepped up efforts to normalize relations to boost regional influence.
This is discussed in the Aljazeera article.
“Russia has officially accepted the powers of the new Afghan ambassador, taking another step toward establishing friendly relations with the Taliban authorities who seized power in the country four years ago after the withdrawal of US troops,” the authors write, citing a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We believe that the official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will become an impetus for the development of productive bilateral cooperation in various areas,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Thus, Russia became the first country in the world to officially recognize the Taliban government.
“This bold decision will be an example for others. Russia has outpaced everyone in the recognition process,” Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi thanked Moscow.
Russia's move is expected to attract the attention of the United States, which has frozen billions of dollars in Afghan central bank assets and imposed sanctions on some Taliban leaders, effectively isolating the country's banking system from the global financial network.
The Taliban have been gradually establishing external contacts since seizing power in August 2021. The Kremlin, which called the US withdrawal from the country a “failure,” has since taken steps to normalize relations with the new government, viewing it as a potential economic partner and ally in the fight against terrorism.
It should be noted that Taliban representatives took part in the economic forum in St. Petersburg in 2022 and 2024, and also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow in October 2024.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has called the Taliban an “ally in the fight against terrorism” – in particular against ISIS-K (Islamic State in Khorasan Province), which is responsible for a number of terrorist attacks both in Afghanistan and in Russia itself.
In April, the Russian Supreme Court officially removed the Taliban's status as a terrorist organization.
“The new government in Kabul is a reality,” Lavrov said at the same time.
He also called for a “pragmatic, not ideological, policy” on Afghanistan.
It has also already been said that the Kremlin has reached an agreement with the Taliban to bring Afghans to the occupied Donbass. Currently, one hundred Afghan citizens are already working at construction sites in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tatarstan. Now the workforce is being brought to the territory of occupied Ukraine.
