According to media reports, Russia has officially accepted the credentials of a new Afghan ambassador appointed by the Taliban authorities. This move is seen as part of Moscow’s ongoing efforts to establish and strengthen diplomatic ties with Afghanistan’s de facto rulers, who took control of the country following the withdrawal of U.S. forces nearly four years ago.
The move makes Russia the first country in the world to recognise the country’s Taliban government.
“This brave decision will be an example for others,” Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a video of a meeting on Thursday with Dmitry Zhirnov, the Russian ambassador to Kabul, posted on X.
“Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone.”
The move 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, which has contributed to Afghanistan’s banking sector being largely cut off from the international financial system.
The group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, when US forces supporting the country’s internationally recognised government pulled out.
Moscow, which called the US withdrawal a “failure”, has taken steps to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities since then, seeing them as a potential economic partner and ally in fighting terrorism.
A Taliban delegation attended Russia’s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg in 2022 and 2024, and the group’s top diplomat met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last October.
In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban “allies in the fight against terrorism” – notably against Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), a group responsible for deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia.
In April, Russia’s Supreme Court lifted the “terrorist” designation for the group.Lavrov said that month that “the new authorities in Kabul are a reality”, urging Moscow to adopt a “pragmatic, not ideologised policy” towards the Taliban.
