Russia has become the first nation to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan since it took power in 2021, announcing on Thursday it has accepted an ambassador from the Islamist group. "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," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "We see significant prospects for cooperation in the trade and economic area with an emphasis on projects in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure," the statement continues. "We will continue to assist Kabul in strengthening regional security and combating the threats of terrorism and drug-related crime." The statement by the Russian ministry was accompanied by a photo of the new Afghan ambassador to Russia, Gul Hassan Hassan, handing his credentials to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. In a post on X, alongside pictures of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meeting with Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov, the Taliban's foreign ministry hailed the decision as positive and important. Russia's recognition is historically significant. The former Soviet Union fought a 9-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989 following their defeat by the Afghan mujahideen, some of whom later founded the modern Taliban. In the aftermath of the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia was one of a few nations to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country. Russia removed its designation of the Taliban as a terrorist group in April 2025. While the Taliban has exchanged ambassadors with China and the United Arab Emirates, and has a long-standing political office in Qatar, those countries do not recognize it as the government of Afghanistan. The lack of recognition has not prevented Afghanistan's new rulers from doing business with the outside world. In 2023, a Chinese oil company signed an oil extraction deal with the Taliban. Moreover, the Taliban has angled for the recognition of another former adversary: the United States. Efforts have reportedly ramped up since US President Donald Trump began his second term earlier this year. March 2025 saw the release of two Americans from Afghanistan, along with the US removing millions of dollars of bounties from three Taliban officials. People familiar with American conversations with the group told CNN in April that the Taliban has proposed numerous steps toward US recognition, including the creation of an embassy-like office within the US to handle Afghan issues. "You need to be forthcoming and take a risk," US officials told the Taliban during a March meeting to secure an American prisoner's release, according to the person familiar with the proceedings. "Do this, it will likely open up the door for a better relationship." It wasn't the first time the US had diplomatically engaged with the Taliban. In the last year of his first term, Trump reached an agreement with the group for a full US withdrawal by 2021. The deal achieved a chaotic fulfillment as the Taliban swept to power during former US President Joe Biden's first summer in the White House. — CNN
