Russia Moves Towards Normalizing Ties with Afghanistan

Russia is considering removing the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, signaling a shift towards normalizing relations with Afghanistan. This decision reflects Moscow's strategy to foster pragmatic dialogue and strengthen political and economic ties with Kabul. The Taliban remains unrecognized globally, despite gaining some regional acceptance.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday that the initiative to strike the Taliban from its roster of terrorist groups has been greenlit at the apex level, as per the state-run TASS news agency. This move entails a series of legal steps before formalization, according to Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan. In July, Putin expressed that Russia perceives the Taliban in Afghanistan as allies against terrorism.

Since the Taliban's ascendance to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, after the U.S.-led forces exited following two decades of warfare, Russia has been methodically cultivating relations with them. Despite this, the Taliban remains officially proscribed in Russia, and globally unrecognized as Afghanistan's legitimate government, although nations like China and the UAE have received its envoys.

Initially added to Russia's terror blacklist in 2003, delisting the Taliban would signify a pivotal move by Moscow to normalize Afghan relations. Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's acting foreign minister, expressed in Moscow his approval of moves by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to remove the Taliban from their banned list. On an allied front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov underscored the imperative of pragmatic dialogue with Afghanistan's current regime, even applauding their crackdown on narcotics and Islamic State fighters, while also stressing that the U.S. should return seized Afghan assets and bolster humanitarian assistance.

(With inputs from agencies.)