Russia has become the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021, after Moscow removed the group from its list of outlawed organizations.

Though Russia once listed the Taliban as a terrorist organization, it has increasingly come to see it as an ally against other terrorist groups—notably the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

Russia said on Thursday it had accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan, making it the first nation to recognise the Taliban government of the country. "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,