Russia Officially Recognizes Taliban as Government of Afghanistan

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the official recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government would foster ‘productive bilateral cooperation.’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov R, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban regime Amir Khan Muttaqi pose for a photo before talks in Moscow on Oct. 4, 2024. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP

Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s de facto government in Afghanistan, four years after the Sunni Islamist group seized power for the second time in August 2021.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the official recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government would foster “productive bilateral cooperation.”