Afghanistan
Russia becomes the 1ᵉʳ country to recognize Taliban power
Russia has just officially recognized the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan. A decision qualified as “courageous” by the Taliban.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a meeting with the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kaboul, on July 3, 2025.
AFP
Russia has officially become the first country to recognize the Islamic emirate established by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a decision qualified as “courageous” by Kabul.
The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after overthrowing the government supported by Westerners and imposed on the Afghan population an austere version of Islamic law.
“Russia is the first country to have officially recognized the Islamic Emirate,” Zia Ahmad Takal, the Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman, told AFP.
It is a “courageous decision” and she will be “an example for the others” commented the Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting with the Russian ambassador to Kabul Dmitri Jirnov, according to a video broadcast on X.
Afghan flag in Moscow
“Recognized,” said the state news agency Ria Novosti the special representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov. Information then confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the TASS agency.
The latter stressed that the Afghan flag introduced by the Taliban had been hoisted for the first time above the Afghanistan Embassy in Moscow on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had received the receivable letters from the new Afghanistan ambassador to Russia, Gul Hassan Hassan.
“We believe that the act of official recognition of the Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will lead to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,” said the ministry on Telegram. “We see important prospects for cooperation in the commercial and economic field, in particular in projects related to energy, transport, agriculture and infrastructure,” he added.
Normalisation
Moscow plans to “continue to help Kabul strengthen regional security and fight threats to terrorism and drug trafficking,” said Russian diplomacy. It also mentioned the possibility of “deepening links in the fields of education, sport, culture and in the humanitarian field”.
Russia had already taken measures to normalize its relations with the Taliban, isolated on the international scene. The Russian Supreme Court had thus withdrawn in April this movement from the list of organizations considered to be terrorists by the Russian government.
Russia had also been the first country to open a commercial representation office in Kabul after taking power by the Taliban and had announced its intention to use Afghanistan as a hub to supply gas in Southeast Asia.
In July 2024, Vladimir Putin even described the Taliban to “allies in the fight against terrorism”.
Cooperation
If only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates had recognized the previous Taliban regime (1996-2001), this time, several other states, including China, have accepted Pakistan of the Ambassadors of the Islamic Emirate in their capitals, without officially recognizing it.
Even if it remains limited, cooperation with the Taliban authorities intensifies with the regional neighbors of Afghanistan but also with major world players such as China and Russia.
The restrictions imposed on women and girls, excluded from education and public life, constitute major points of friction for Westerners.
The Taliban actively seek international recognition and investments, their countries having been devastated by four decades of war, in particular by the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989.
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