Afghanistan's Taliban government said on Thursday that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a “brave decision”.
However, Afghan women activists condemned the decision, saying that recognising the Taliban − under whom women and girls have seen freedoms curtailed − “will legitimise impunity”.
The Taliban swept back to power in 2021 after toppling the foreign-backed government and have imposed an austere version of Sharia. They have sought official international recognition and investment, as the country recovers from four decades of war − including the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989.
The announcement was made after Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul on Thursday.
“This brave decision will be an example for others … now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Mr Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting on X.
He said it was “a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect and constructive engagement”, the Afghan Foreign Ministry posted on X.
Russia's Foreign Ministry added on Telegram: “We believe that the act of official recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will boost the development of productive bilateral co-operation between our countries in several areas.”
It highlighted potential “commercial and economic” co-operation in “energy, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure”. The ministry said Moscow hoped to continue helping Kabul “reinforce regional security and fight against the threats of terrorism and drug-trafficking”.
Moscow had been taking steps to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities, removing them from a list of “terrorist organisations” in April and accepting a Taliban ambassador in Moscow.
In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban “allies in the fight against terrorism”.
Russia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover, and it has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas heading to South-East Asia.
Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the UAE recognised the Taliban during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. This time several states, including China and Pakistan, have accepted Taliban ambassadors in their capitals, but have not officially recognised the Taliban regime since the end of the group's two-decade war with US-led Nato troops.
There has been limited but growing engagement with the Taliban authorities, particularly from regional neighbours, but also global players China and Russia.
However, restrictions on women and girls, barring them from education and squeezing them from public life, have been key sticking points for western nations. Senior Taliban figures also remain under international sanctions, including by the UN.
A former MP in Kabul, Fawzia Koofi, said any recognition of the Taliban “will not bring peace it will legitimise impunity” and “risk endangering not just the people of Afghanistan, but global security”.
