Russia Recognises Afghanistan’s Taliban Govt Becoming First Country To Do So

<p>Russia has become the first country in the world to officially recognise the Taliban’s rule, said the Afghan government on Thursday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Taliban government, calling the move a “brave decision”, announced the development after a meeting between Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul, reported AFP.&nbsp;</p>
<p>”This brave decision will be an example for others… Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting posted on X.</p>
<p>Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal told the news agency that Russia is the “first country” which has officially recognised the Islamic Emirate.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Russia’s foreign ministry also confirmed the news to the TASS news agency.</p>
<p>Additionally, Moscow’s special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told Russia’s state news agency Ria Novosti that the government had “recognised” the Taliban government.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While ambassadors of the Taliban government are present in the capitals of multiple countries like Pakistan and China, they have not officially recognised the Islamic Emirate.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Moscow saw good prospects to develop ties and assured continued support to Kabul in security, counter-terrorism, and combating drug crime, reported Reuters.</p>
<p>The ministry further said it saw significant trade and economic opportunities, especially in energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure.&nbsp;</p>
<p>”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 ministry said.</p>
<p>Russia’s move is likely to be closely monitored by the US, which has frozen billions in Afghanistan’s central bank assets. Washington also enforced sanctions on some senior leaders in the Taliban who contributed to Afghanistan’s banking sector being largely cut off from the international financial system.&nbsp;</p>
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