Moscow is taking steps to normalize relations with Taliban, whom he sees as a potential economic partner.
Russia announced on Wednesday that the embassy of the Afghan ruling Taliban in Moscow will promote the Embassy and allow Kabul to have its ambassador in Moscow. The symbolic gesture comes only a few days after the Russian Supreme Court canceled the designation of the movement as a terrorist group. TASR informs this based on the AFP report.
“We informed the representatives of the Afghan government that, following the decision of the Russian Supreme Court to suspend the Taliban, the Russian Party decided to promote the diplomatic mission of Afghanistan in Moscow to the level of the embassy,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry. The decision to promote the embassy was reportedly came after consultation with the Afghan ministers of foreign and the interior, which subsequently “expressed a deep gratitude” for this step.
Russia’s economic interests
Moscow began taking steps to normalize relations with Taliban after his return to power in 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops from the country. According to AFP, Russia sees a potential economic partner in Taliban.
However, the abolition of the designation of the terrorist group and the promotion of the embassy does not mean formal recognition of the Taliban government. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, “new leadership in Kabul is a reality”. “We have to take this into account so that we can implement pragmatic and not ideologized policy,” Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The Taliban Government is not officially recognized by any country in the world, and the United Nations (UN) groups the group as “de facto offices in Afghanistan”.
