Russia, the inheritor of a history of complicated relationship with Afghanistan, became the first county in the post 9/11 world to recognize the Afghan Taliban government, which has been struggling to gain international legitimacy while enforcing its own strict interpretation of Islamic laws.
Moscow’s move, which marks a change in international stance on the Afghan militant group, accepted credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan on Thursday as it seeks to build friendly relations with the country located at the center of Central and South Asia.
The world capitals have been cautious in their dealings with Afghanistan, which was the ground zero in the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda group perpetrated on New York’s World Trade Towers and the Pentagon building in Washington D.C.
Afghanistan’s neighbors and the Gulf countries, which established diplomatic ties with the Talban in 1990s, have also not recognized the group’s new rulers.
The Afghan Taliban seized control of Kabul when the United States withdrew from the country four years ago in 2021, after the longest American war.
“We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,” said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
The move makes Russia the first country in the world to grant diplomatic recognition to the Taliban government.
“This brave decision will be an example for others,” Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a video of a meeting on Thursday with Dmitry Zhirnov, the Russian ambassador to Kabul, posted on X.
Afghanistan has had a torrid history in modern times, fighting major military powers of the time including Britain in the late 1890s, Russia in the 1980s and the United States from 2001 to 2021, except for a period of relative peace for 50 years under King Zahir Shah.
But tensions continued to persist between the modern city centers and the rural conservative communities.
Moscow, which is engaged in a war with Ukraine on Europe’s edge, has always viewed Afghanistan central to its regional ambition. President Vladimir Putin seeks to maintain Russian influence over Central Asia as the world witnesses power games in several regions including the Middle East and peripheries around Europe and China.
Moscow also has strategic concerns to address with the help of Afghan rulers, particularly with regard to the Islamic State’s Afghanistan-based Khorasan group, which it says was behind some deadly attacks in Russia.
Besides, Russia also keeps an eye on its energy and trade interests, with Afghanistan being a connecting point for the region.
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