Moscow:
The Supreme Court of Russia on Thursday removed the Taliban’s designation as a “terrorist organization”, a symbolic gesture, which was aimed at building favorable relations with the real rulers of Afghanistan.
The Islamist group confiscated power in Afghanistan in August 2021 when American forces supported the country’s internationally recognized government.
Moscow, called the US “failure”, has since taken steps to normalize the relationship with the Taliban authorities, seen them as a potential economic partner and an ally in fighting terrorism.
Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nafedov said in a judgment, “Earlier established ban on Taliban activities – the integrated federal list of organizations recognized as a terrorist – was suspended – has been suspended.”
“The decision immediately enters the legal force,” he said.
The Russian prosecutor General last month asked the court to remove the “terrorist” designation of the group, after several visits by the top Taliban authorities to Russia.
A Taliban delegation attended Russia’s major economic platform in 2022 and in 2024 in St. Petersburg, and the top diplomat of the group met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow last October.
The decision to suspend the label is not for formal recognition for the Taliban authorities, seeking international validity.
But this helps to avoid embarrassment for a meeting of Russian officials with representatives of terrorist groups at high-profile events.
Shifting attitude
Moscow’s attitude towards the Taliban has moved to a large extent in the last two decades.
The group was formed in 1994 during the Afghan Civil War, largely by former Mujahideen fighters who were struggling with the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
The Soviet-Afghan War, which killed thousands of young Soviet people, resulted in a stinging defeat for Moscow that accelerated the death of the USSR.
In 2003, Moscow placed the Taliban on its terrorist blacklist at his support for separatists in the North Caucasus.
But the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 forced Russia and other countries to compete for impact to the region.
Russia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after Taliban acquisition, and has announced a plan to use Afghanistan as a transit center for gas title in Southeast Asia.
In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban “a partner in the fight against terrorism”.
Both Russia and Taliban officials are trying to eradicate an Islamic Group (IS-K), Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) responsible for deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia, including an attack in the Moscow Concert Hall in March 2024, killing 145.
Other countries have also sought to promote relations with Taliban authorities, although no state has yet officially gone to identify them.
Kazakhstan announced last year that it had removed the Taliban from the list of “terrorist organizations”.
In 2023, China became the first country to appoint a new ambassador in Kabul and has made growing economic relations with its new rulers.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)