Russia becomes first country to recognize Taliban government in Afghanistan

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 and imposed an Islamic fundamentalist regime in the country, which banned women from public life. Russia on Thursday (03/07) became the first country to recognize the Taliban government as legitimate in Afghanistan, three months after removing the Islamic fundamentalists from its list of terrorist organizations. Since returning to power in 2021, the Afghan regime has sought international recognition and investment.

The decision was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a proposal from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The information was confirmed by Dmitry Zhirnov, the Russian ambassador to Kabul. He said that the recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the name chosen by the Taliban – “demonstrates Russia’s desire to establish full cooperation with Afghanistan.”

The ambassador highlighted Russia's traditional friendship with the Afghan people, a Central Asian country invaded by the Soviet Union between 1979 and 1989, in a war that resulted in the death of around 15,000 Soviet soldiers.

On Thursday, Taliban diplomats raised their flag — a white one with the Islamic creed written in the center — from the balcony of their embassy in the Russian capital for the first time since they came to power in 2021, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after overthrowing the foreign-backed government and imposing a strict version of Islamic law.

Since then, the Taliban has cracked down heavily on women. The fundamentalist regime has banned girls and women from education and public life. This stance has prevented Western nations from recognizing the Taliban government. In addition, senior Taliban members remain under international sanctions, including from the UN.

"Historic milestone"

The Taliban regime called the Russian decision "courageous and historic". "This realistic decision by Russia will be remembered as an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations and will set a positive precedent for other countries," Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a statement.

Muttaqi considered that, with this first step, "the process of formal recognition" of the Taliban government has begun and expressed the expectation that "this process will continue".

The new Afghan ambassador, Mawlawi Gul Hassan, arrived in Moscow on Tuesday and presented his credentials to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday. The Taliban currently run diplomatic missions in at least 14 countries, including Turkey, China and Pakistan, but Russia is the first country to formally recognize them.

In December 2024, Putin signed a law allowing the Taliban and other groups to be removed from the list of terrorist organizations, provided they renounce supporting, justifying and promoting terrorism. The Taliban were added to the list in 2003 on the grounds that they used terrorist methods and maintained links with illegal armed groups in the Russian region of Chechnya.

Approach before 2021

Russia began building bridges with the Taliban years before they regained power in Kabul in 2021 following the US military withdrawal. It even hosted them in Moscow on several occasions. The change in stance came when the Taliban declared war on the Islamic State. Some of their representatives were later invited to visit the Russian capital in 2018.

Russia was the first country to open a trade representative office in Kabul after the Taliban took power and has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas bound for Southeast Asia. Other states, including China and Pakistan, have accepted Russian ambassadors in their capitals but have not officially recognized the regime.

Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban during their first term in power from 1996 to 2001.

cn (EFE, AFP, Lusa)