Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu met with Afghan government officials on Monday, according to a statement from Kabul. Shoigu, who serves as the secretary of Russia's Security Council, assured the Afghan officials that Moscow would soon remove the Taliban from its list of banned organizations.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, visits by foreign officials have been rare, as no nation has yet formally recognized the government of the former insurgent group. The Taliban's restrictions on women have made them outcasts in many Western nations, but Kabul is increasingly seeking diplomatic ties with its regional neighbors, focusing on economic and security cooperation.
Shoigu met with an Afghan delegation in Kabul led by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar. Baradar's office stated on social media platform X that Shoigu expressed Russia's interest in enhancing bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan. He also announced that the Islamic Emirate's name would soon be removed from Russia's blacklist to expand political and economic relations between the two countries.
The Islamic Emirate is the name the Taliban government uses to refer to itself. Analysts suggest that Moscow may be looking to cooperate with Kabul to counter the threat from Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), the Afghan-based branch of the Sunni militant group. In March, more than 140 people were killed in a Moscow concert hall attack by IS-K gunmen.
Taliban authorities have consistently stated that security is their top domestic priority and have vowed to expel militants involved in foreign attacks from Afghanistan. Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said in July, 'The Taliban certainly are our allies in the fight against terrorism. They are working to eradicate terrorist cells.'
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