Russia begins process to remove Taliban from terrorist list

Russia plans to remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian president's special envoy to Afghanistan, said on Friday. Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), which is responsible for fighting terrorism, also confirmed the change. 

Russia does not officially recognize the Taliban as the ruling force in Kabul, but it was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Moscow after the Western-backed Afghan government was forced to leave the country in August 2021, ending two decades of Taliban rule and the ongoing Western occupation of the country. 

"The Russian leadership has already made a fundamental decision on this issue," Kabulov told reporters, adding that  extensive work needs to be done by a team of lawyers, parliament and other government agencies so that a decision can be made in the near future. 

Volchinkov also announced that the Russian government is completing the procedure to remove the group from the terrorist list, noting that this step could pave the way for more "practical cooperation," including in fighting organized crime and ISIS-K, an offshoot of IS in the region. 

Putin affirms Taliban as allies against terrorism

The Taliban have been on Russia's blacklist since 2003, when the Russian government accused them of being responsible for the 1995 hijacking of a Russian civilian plane, due to their ties to a militant insurgency in the North Caucasus. 

Moscow's attitude towards the group began to change after the insurgency was largely defeated at home, and was then further strengthened by the emergence of IS in the mid-2010s. 

In July, President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed the Taliban's role as an ally in the fight against terrorism. Putin acknowledged their dominance over Afghanistan and stressed the need to maintain ties with the country's real political forces.  

"The Taliban movement has made certain promises... but in general, we have to assume that the Taliban controls power in the country. In this sense, the Taliban are certainly our ally in the fight against terrorism," Putin said, pointing to continuing signs of Taliban cooperation in counterterrorism efforts.