The Taliban were banned by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003, but the ban was lifted in April this year.
Russia Becomes First Country to Recognize Taliban Govt. Russia said it had accepted the credentials of Afghanistan’s new ambassador, making it the first country to recognize the country’s Taliban government.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow saw good prospects for developing relations and would continue to support Kabul in security, counterterrorism and combating drug crimes.
It also saw significant trade and economic opportunities, particularly in energy, transport, agriculture and infrastructure.
“We believe that the process of formally recognizing the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will promote fruitful bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,” the ministry said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a statement: “We appreciate this bold step by Russia, and God willing, it will serve as an example for others.” No other country has formally recognized the Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces carried out a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
However, China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have moved to recognize all designated ambassadors in Kabul.
The Russian move represents a significant milestone for the Taliban administration as it seeks to ease its international isolation.
It is likely to be closely watched by Washington, which has frozen billions in assets of the Afghan central bank and imposed sanctions on some senior Taliban leaders who played a role in largely cutting off Afghanistan’s banking sector from the international financial system.
Russia has been gradually building ties with the Taliban, which President Vladimir Putin said last year was now an ally in the fight against terrorism.
Since 2022, Afghanistan has imported gas, oil and wheat from Russia.
The Taliban were banned by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003, but the ban was lifted in April this year.
Russia sees a need to work with Kabul as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East.
In March 2024, gunmen killed 149 people in an attack at a concert hall outside Moscow that was claimed by ISIS. U.S. officials said they had intelligence indicating that the group’s Afghan branch was responsible. The Taliban say they are working to eliminate ISIS’s presence in Afghanistan.
Western diplomats say the Taliban’s path to broader international recognition is blocked unless they change course on women’s rights.
The Taliban has closed high schools and universities for girls and women and has restricted their movement without a male guardian. It says it respects women’s rights under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Russia has a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan. Soviet troops invaded the country in December 1979 to prop up a communist government, but they were defeated in a protracted war against US-backed mujahideen fighters.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew his troops in 1989, by which time some 15,000 Soviet soldiers had been killed.
