Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial regime in Russia became on Thursday (3) the first country to recognize as legitimate the Taliban government in Afghanistan, three months after removing the group of Islamic fundamentalists from its list of terrorist organizations.
The measure was announced by Russian ambassador to Cabul, Dmitri Zhirnov. According to him, Putin’s decision was made after a proposal from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Zhirnov said that the recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – a name chosen by the Talibans – “demonstrates Russia’s desire to establish full cooperation with Afghanistan.” “We believe that the act of official recognition of the Islamic Emirate Government of Afghanistan will impulse the development of bilateral productive cooperation between our countries in various fields,” he added.
The ambassador also took the opportunity to highlight the relationships of “friendship” with Afghanistan, a country invaded by the Soviet Union between the 1970s and 1980s, in a conflict that decreased about 15,000 Russian soldiers.
This Thursday, the Afghan embassy in Moscow dawned with the Taliban flag shaking next to the building. The new Afghan ambassador, Mawlawi Gul Hassan, arrived in the Russian capital earlier this week and has already met with Putin Foreign Ministry.
Currently, the Afghan Taliban government has diplomatic missions in 14 countries, such as Turkey, China and Pakistan, but Russia is still the first to formally recognize the legitimacy of the government that took power in 2021.
