Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday lifted its two-decade-old ban on the Taliban, the Tass news agency said, reopening opportunities for business and investment between the two countries, and aligning with the Kremlin's bid to stabilize Afghanistan.
The move is undoubtedly a diplomatic win for the Taliban, which has been largely ostracized on the world stage after it wrested back power in a swift and chaotic takeover when the US withdrew its troops from the country in 2021.
While Taliban delegations have attended conferences in Russia since then, the de-listing means contact with the group is no longer a punishable offence for Russians.
"Russia aims to build mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan in all areas, including the fight against drugs and terrorism," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Moscow has kept its embassy in Kabul operational since the Taliban takeover nearly four years ago.
The two countries have a shared interest in fighting the Islamic State group offshoot, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, which has carried out deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia. They also have a bloody history between them.
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to back the communist government at risk of being toppled by rebels known as the "mujahideen". The CIA famously backed the mujahideen in the decade-long war that drew fighters from all over the world to Afghanistan, including a notable Saudi citizen: Osama Bin Laden.
Up to three million Afghans were estimated to have been killed by the time the Soviets withdrew in 1989. The Taliban, which emerged from the militias that helped defeat the Soviets, then came to power in 1996. It was toppled in 2001 after the US invasion, and rose to power again twenty years later.
The Taliban has been eager to gain recognition in the international community, but the Western Hemisphere in particular has been reluctant to engage with the group, given its human rights violations and laws banning women and girls from pursuing an education.
In recent months, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan de-listed the Taliban, with the goal of regional integration.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, China, Pakistan, and India are among the nations that have kept their diplomatic channels open since the Taliban takeover.
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