Russia said on Thursday it had
accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan,
making it the first nation to recognise the Taliban government
of the country.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow saw
good prospects to develop ties and would continue to support
Kabul in security, counter-terrorism and combating drug crime.
It also saw significant trade and economic opportunities,
especially in energy, transport, agriculture and infrastructure.
“We 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,” the ministry said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a statement:
“We value this courageous step taken by Russia, and, God
willing, it will serve as an example for others as well.”
No other country has formally recognised the Taliban government
that seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a
chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
However, China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and
Pakistan have all designated ambassadors to Kabul, in a step
towards recognition.
The Russian move represents a major 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 Afghanistan’s central bank assets and
enforced sanctions on some senior leaders in the Taliban that
contributed to Afghanistan’s banking sector being largely cut
off from the international financial system.
COMPLEX HISTORY
Russia has been gradually building relations with the Taliban,
which President Vladimir Putin said last year was now an ally in
fighting terrorism. Since 2022, Afghanistan has imported gas,
oil and wheat from Russia.
The Taliban was outlawed 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 a string of countries from
Afghanistan to the Middle East.
In March 2024, gunmen killed 149 people at a concert hall
outside Moscow in an attack claimed by Islamic State. U.S.
officials said they had intelligence indicating it was the
Afghan branch of the group, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K),
that was responsible.
The Taliban says it is working to wipe out the presence of
Islamic State in Afghanistan.
Western diplomats say the Taliban’s path towards wider
international recognition is blocked until it changes course on
women’s rights. The Taliban has closed high schools and
universities to girls and women and placed restrictions on their
movement without a male guardian. It says it respects women’s
rights in line with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Russia has a complex and bloodstained history in Afghanistan.
Soviet troops invaded the country in December 1979 to prop up a
Communist government, but became bogged down in a long war
against mujahideen fighters armed by the United States. Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev pulled his army out in 1989, by which<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia said on Thursday it hadaccepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan,making it the first nation to recognise the Taliban governmentof the country.In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow sawgood prospects to develop ties and would continue to supportKabul in security, counter-terrorism and combating drug crime.It also saw significant trade and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n