Russia will remove the Taliban from a list of banned terrorist organisations
Russia will remove the Taliban from a list of banned terrorist organisations
Three years after they returned to power in Afghanistan, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency said Monday.
Russia has for years fostered relations with the Taliban, holding multiple rounds of talks and boosting trade with Afghanistan despite international sanctions.
“Kazakhstan has recently taken the decision, which we are also going to take, to remove them from the list of terrorist organisations,” RIA Novosti quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
By the end of 2023, Kazakhstan has taken the Taliban off its list of prohibited organizations.
The action might improve diplomatic ties between Russia and Afghanistan, even though it would not amount to an official recognition of the Taliban government and what it calls the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
The US-backed administration was toppled by the Taliban in 2021. Their stringent interpretation of Islamic law effectively prohibits women from participating in public life.
Lavrov said that Russia considered the local situation before making its choice.
“The true power is with them. We do not have a disinterest in Afghanistan. Above all, Lavrov stated, “our allies in Central Asia are not uncaring.”
The state media said that Russia invited representatives of the Taliban to its inaugural Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
This event was formerly seen to be the cornerstone of Russia’s commercial relations with the West.
Russia has long been a supporter of ties with the Taliban.
The US military commander in Afghanistan said in 2018 that Moscow was providing the organization with weapons; Moscow denied these allegations at the time.
Since 2003, Russia has categorized the Taliban as a terrorist group.
Moscow’s relationship with Afghanistan is complicated; throughout the 1980s, it fought a ten-year war against militant guerilla groups known as the mujahideen in order to establish a Kremlin-backed government.
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