In an effort to establish friendly relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, which were under US control when American troops withdrew from the country four years ago, Russia has accepted the credentials of a new Afghan ambassador.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that the official recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give a boost to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our nations.
Russia becomes the first nation in the world to recognize the Taliban government as a result.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan foreign minister, stated in a video of a meeting with the Russian ambassador to Kabul on Thursday that “this courageous decision will serve as an example for others.”
Russia was ahead of everyone once the process of recognition began.
Washington, which has frozen billions in the country’s central bank assets and put sanctions on some senior Taliban leaders, is likely to be watching closely, which has contributed to the country’s banking sector being largely disconnected from the global financial system.
When US forces supporting Afghanistan’s internationally recognized government pulled out in August 2021, the group seized control of the country.
Since then, Moscow, which referred to the US withdrawal as a “failure,” has since started to normalize relations with the Taliban authorities in order to see them as potential economic partners and ally in the fight against terrorism.
The top diplomat of the Taliban met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last October, and a delegation from the Taliban took part in Russia’s flagship economic forum, which was held in Saint Petersburg in 2022 and 2024.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, referred to the Taliban as “allies in the fight against terrorism” in July 2024, particularly against ISIS-K, a terrorist organization that has carried out deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia.
The organization’s Supreme Court in Russia removed the designation as a “terrorist” in April.
Lavrov urged Moscow to pursue a “pragmatic, not ideologised policy” in the face of the Taliban in the month that Lavrov claimed “the new authorities in Kabul are a reality.”
attempting to exert influence
Over the past 20 years, Moscow’s attitude toward the Taliban has dramatically changed.
Former US-backed Mujahideen fighters who fought the Soviet Union in the 1980s formed the group in 1994 during the Afghan Civil War.
Moscow suffered a crushing defeat in the Soviet-Afghan War, which may have accelerated the USSR’s demise.
Russia’s “terrorist” blacklist was put on hold by the Taliban in 2003 because of its support for separatists in the North Caucasus.
Russia and other nations in the region have to reevaluate their positions of influence as a result of the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
After the Taliban took control, Russia established its first business representative office in Kabul, and it has made it known that it intends to use Afghanistan as a gas transit hub for Southeast Asia.
Source: Aljazeera
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