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Russian authorities have removed the Talibans from their list of terrorist organizations. Kremlin can now sign agreements with Afghanistan – and also improve their relations with the transitional government in Syria.
On April 17, in a closed door session, the Russian Federation Supreme Court “temporarily raised the ban imposed by Russia to the Taliban. The request was submitted by the Attorney General’s office.
The request was based on a decree of President Vladimir Putin, published a year ago, which allowed to remove the Talibans, an ultra-conservative political and religious movement of Afghanistan, List of Russian terrorist organizations. The Talibans regained power in Cabul in 2021 after the forces of the International Coalition of Afghanistan.
According to Russian legislation, any member of the Talibans entering Russia must be arrested and can be condemned up to 20 years in prison on charges of involvement in terrorist activities. In practice, however, no member of the Taliban has been arrested upon entering Russia since 2016.
It was at that time that Kremlin started unofficial negotiations with the Talibans. Since then, Taliban representatives have repeatedly visited Moscow and St. Petersburg and were even present on the sidelines of the 2024 International Economic Forum.
The Russian media continued to refer to the Taliban as a “prohibited terrorist organization in Russia.” However, this situation changed in 2024, when Putin began to describe the Talibans as “allies in the fight against terrorism”.
The United States does not designate Talibans as a terrorist organization, but classify us as an insurreto movement.
The Talibans supported the Chechen Combatants
During the Second War of Chechnya, which lasted from 1999 to 2009, the Talibans supported the Chechen Combatants against Moscowboth financially and with weapons. They established diplomatic relations with the Chechen Government of Aslan Maskhadov and recognized the Declaration of Independence of the Autonomous Republic of Russia.
Following Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks in the United States, on September 11, 2001, the Taliban, who have ruled most of Afghanistan since 1996, were expelled by a US-led coalition. NATO allies then sent the Isaf mission to Support the new Afghan government under the term of the UN Security Council.
The talibans expected Get the support of Moscow. In an interview after the BBC, the then chief of staff of Russian presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, revealed that Afghanistan spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, had proposed in 2001 that Russia and the Talibans unite forces “to combat American aggression.”
According to Ivanov, Kremlin’s response in English was: “F *** OFF.” In 2003, Russia officially designated the Talibans as a terrorist organization.
However, in 2015, Kremlin began to establish “communication channels” with the Taliban. Last year Putin signed the decree that allows him to withdraw from the terrorism list. This process can also allow Moscow to remove the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list, the group that Currently controls the transition government in Syria.
What changes, in legal terms?
The Supreme Court’s decision seems to allow Russia to directly conclude global agreements with Afghanistan. Evgeniy Smirnov of the Pervyi Otdel Human Rights Group (“First Department”) told DW that Russian criminal law stipulates variable prison sentences for collaboration with organizations designated as terrorists.
Nevertheless, contracts were signed in 2024 to provide oil, wheat and flour products. Smirnov commented that these agreements may have been made through business structures without representatives of the Taliban directly involved.
Smirnov also noted that Russian legislation does not clearly define a procedure to reverse a terrorism designation. “Temporary removal means that the organization is effectively off the list. From that moment on, collaboration with the Talibans no longer has criminal consequences. However, existing convictions cannot be annulled, ”he explained.
Political Immunity in Russia
The Middle East Ruslan Suleymanov expert said that to date, no country has officially recognized the Talibans as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. But, he added, the Talibans are trying end in its international isolation. They have already convinced Kazakhstan and Kyrguistan to remove the group from their national lists of terrorist organizations.
However, he warned, “so far they have only obtained indirect recognition. China, for example, agreed to accept the ambassador appointed by the Taliban, while Russia only accepted a temporary business manager.”
In his opinion, international skepticism in relation to the talibans is due to the return of rigid and repressive laws to Afghanistansimilar to those in force in their previous period of government, between 1996 and 2001. The situation of human rights in the country was drastically deteriorated, especially for women and girls.
Suleymanov added that Moscow began to establish ties with more moderate taliban representatives in the context of the aggravation of its relations with the West, as Russia considers itself a key actor in the region. This fact is related to the political immunity that Taliban representatives have benefited when they move to Russia.
According to Suleymanov, when the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, Kremlin wanted to demonstrate that the American foreign policy had failed.
“Russian propaganda has applauded the Talibans and, in general, this continues today, in the midst of the anto -educational rhetoric underway in Russia.”
