Russia will remove the Taliban from the terrorist list

“The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) are working with other government agencies to officially remove the Taliban from the terrorist list. The Russian leadership has made this decision,” Zamir Kabulov , special envoy of the Russian President on Afghanistan, said on October 4.

This move needs to be carried out through many legal procedures. “The final decision will be made in the nearest future,” Mr. Kabulov added.

FSB head Aleksandr Bortnikov said removing the Taliban from the terrorist list would pave the way for “practical cooperation” with the group, including the fight against organized crime and ISIS-K, the state branch. Islam (IS) declares itself in Afghanistan. ISIS-K claimed to be behind the theater terrorist attack on the outskirts of Moscow in March that killed 145 people.

Russia put the Taliban on its terrorist list in 2003 because it believed the group was involved in the Muslim rebellion in the North Caucasus and hijacked a Russian civilian airliner in 1995.

Moscow’s attitude towards the Taliban began to change after most of the rebel groups in Russia were eliminated. This change was further reinforced when IS emerged in Iraq and Syria since 2014.

When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Russia was one of the first countries to contact and gradually build a relationship with this group. President Vladimir Putin said in July that the Taliban was in de facto control of Afghanistan, which also meant “Russia’s ally in the fight against terrorism”.

“We appreciate the positive statements of senior Russian officials on this issue and hope to see more effective steps soon,” said Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign affairs official. Moscow.

No country has officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate leadership of Afghanistan, although China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have accepted Taliban ambassadors.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in June that Russia would only recognize the Taliban government if it met a number of conditions, such as committing to fighting drug trafficking and terrorism, as well as “respecting the fundamental rights of all.” peoples of Afghanistan”.

Mr. Lavrov said that the US should return confiscated assets to Afghanistan and that the West should be responsible for rebuilding the country after the conflict. The Russian Foreign Minister also called for increased humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and said Moscow would continue to send food and essential goods to this country.