Russia on Thursday became the first country to recognize the Taliban government as the legitimate authority in Afghanistan, a major step in the militant group’s efforts to engage with the world nearly four years after it seized power and declared victory in its war against the United States.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on X that Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, had “officially conveyed his government’s decision to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” during a meeting in Kabul with the country’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow’s official recognition of the government in Afghanistan would “give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,” including in trade and energy.
Russia’s move is a significant victory for the Taliban, whose draconian restrictions on women, including bans on education beyond the sixth grade and on medical training, have made Afghanistan a pariah state in much of the world.
Both Western and Islamic nations condemned the Taliban and kept a distance from them, despite widespread outreach efforts by the group. The Taliban moved to eradicate opium production and took other steps in a bid to present a more moderate face, but most foreign partners remained unmoved.
That began to change last year, however, as a growing recognition set in that the Taliban government was not going anywhere and that no amount of international pressure would force it to back down on women’s rights.
Diplomatic activity picked up in the second half of 2024, with delegations discussing trade and investment deals with the Taliban, and signs of cooperation have continued this year. China vowed to extend a China-Pakistan economic corridor to Afghanistan, and India resumed granting visas to Afghan citizens.
The United States, whose 20-year war with the Taliban ended with a chaotic pullout in August 2021, has signaled no willingness to recognize the Taliban. The U.S. government continues to draw a red line with the Taliban over the treatment of women, even as America’s rivals look to capitalize on openings with Afghanistan.
Other Western governments are also keeping the Taliban at arm’s length, but Germany’s interior minister said on Wednesday that the German government needed to strike a deal with the Taliban to facilitate the deportations of Afghan citizens on German soil.
Russia’s recognition of the Taliban government caps months of expanding relations between the two governments, including on humanitarian aid and counterterrorism.
In April, Russia’s top court removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, more than 20 years after it had first been given the label.
Russian officials said that the removal would allow closer security cooperation against the Islamic State-Khorasan, a branch of the Islamic State that is active in Afghanistan.
The group, known as ISIS-K, killed more than 130 people last year at a concert hall outside Moscow, in the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia since President Vladimir V. Putin took power a quarter century ago. ISIS-K also attacked the Russian Embassy in Kabul in 2022.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would seek to increase cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture and infrastructure. Iran, the United Arab Emirates, China and Pakistan are Afghanistan’s top trading partners.
Russia has a complex history with Afghanistan. Soviet troops invaded the country in 1979 to install a Communist government and became embroiled in a 10-year war against mujahedeen fighters armed by the United States. About 15,000 Soviet soldiers died in the war.
Mr. Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s foreign minister, said of Russia’s recognition of the Taliban, “We hope other countries will also use this opportunity and recognize the Islamic Emirate.”
Safiullah Padshah contributed reporting.
Elian Peltier is The Times’ West Africa correspondent, based in Dakar, Senegal.
Paul Sonne is an international correspondent, focusing on Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s domestic and foreign policies, with a focus on the war against Ukraine.
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