Supreme Court lifted group\u2019s \u2018terrorist\u2019 designation in April, as Moscow seeks normalisation in bid for regional clout
\n Kabul
\nRussia has accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan as part of an ongoing drive to build friendly relations with the country\u2019s Taliban authorities, which seized power as United States troops withdrew from the country four years ago.
\n\u201cWe believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,\u201d said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Thursday.
\nThe move makes Russia the first country in the world to recognise the country\u2019s Taliban government.
\n\u201cThis brave decision will be an example for others,\u201d Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a video of a meeting on Thursday with Dmitry Zhirnov, the Russian ambassador to Kabul, posted on X.
\n\u201cNow that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone.\u201d
\nThe move is likely to be closely watched by Washington, which has frozen billions in Afghanistan\u2019s central bank assets and enforced sanctions on some senior leaders in the Taliban, which has contributed to Afghanistan\u2019s banking sector being largely cut off from the international financial system.
\nThe group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, when US forces supporting the country\u2019s internationally recognised government pulled out.
\nMoscow, which called the US withdrawal a \u201cfailure\u201d, has taken steps to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities since then, seeing them as a potential economic partner and ally in fighting terrorism.
\nA Taliban delegation attended Russia\u2019s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg in 2022 and 2024, and the group\u2019s top diplomat met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last October.
\nIn July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban \u201callies in the fight against terrorism\u201d \u2013 notably against Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), a group responsible for deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia.
\nIn April, Russia\u2019s Supreme Court lifted the \u201cterrorist\u201d designation for the group.
\nLavrov said that month that \u201cthe new authorities in Kabul are a reality\u201d, urging Moscow to adopt a \u201cpragmatic, not ideologised policy\u201d towards the Taliban.
\nCompeting for influence
\nMoscow\u2019s attitude towards the Taliban has shifted drastically over the last two decades.
\nThe group was formed in 1994 during the Afghan Civil War, largely by former US-supported Mujahideen fighters who battled the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
\nThe Soviet-Afghan war resulted in a stinging defeat for Moscow that may have hastened the demise of the USSR.
\nRussia put the Taliban on its \u201cterrorist\u201d blacklist in 2003 over its support for separatists in the North Caucasus.
\nBut the Taliban\u2019s return to power in 2021 has forced Russia and other countries in the region to change tack as they compete for influence.
\nRussia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover, and has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas heading to Southeast Asia.
\nThe Afghan government is not officially recognised by any world body, and the United Nations refers to the administration as the \u201cTaliban de facto authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court lifted group\u2019s \u2018terrorist\u2019 designation in April, as Moscow seeks normalisation in bid for regional clout Kabul Russia has accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan as part of an ongoing drive to build friendly relations with the country\u2019s Taliban authorities, which seized power as United States troops withdrew from the country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-488480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n