Russia Moves to Delist Taliban as Terrorist Organization

The decision marks a significant shift in Moscow's approach to Afghanistan, requiring further legal steps to finalize.

Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that the decision to remove the Taliban from its terrorist list was made at the highest governmental level.
Legal procedures are still needed to formalize the removal, according to Putin's Afghanistan envoy, Zamir Kabulov.
Russia has been strengthening ties with the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, despite the group being officially outlawed in Russia since 2003.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called for Western nations to lift sanctions on the Taliban and return Afghanistan's seized assets.
The move aligns with Russia's strategy to engage pragmatically with the Taliban, which it views as an ally against the Islamic State.