Russia accredits Taliban ambassador in Moscow: Lavrov announced

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News April 1, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia has accredited the first diplomat of Afghanistan in Moscow since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021.

The announcement came during a meeting between the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries on March 31. The Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries meeting was attended by the officials from China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran in the eastern city of Tunxi, China.

During the meeting, Lavrov said that the Taliban’s diplomat was accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry in February 2022, and he has been active since then.

“We are convinced that the international community should actively cooperate with Afghanistan’s new government, encouraging steps aimed at its official recognition by the UN and all its participants,” Lavrov said.

Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Lavrov as saying that Moscow would not accept any United States or NATO military presence in Afghanistan’s neighboring states.

^{Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center) stands with officials from Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran in East China’s Tunxi city on March 31, 2022. (Image Credit: Chinese Foreign Ministry)}

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan since American-led forces left the country in August 2021. Since then, many countries have changed their stance toward the group, however, most of the international community does not find the Taliban government to be a legitimate representative of Afghanistan. Many countries have been urging the Taliban to conduct an election in order to form a legitimate government transition.

The Taliban have repeatedly urged Russia and other countries to recognize the group as a legitimate government of Afghanistan. On March 17, United Nations Security Council voted to establish official ties with Afghanistan, leading many countries including Russia to change their stance toward the Taliban-led Afghanistan.

As soon as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin raised his concerns about Afghanistan’s peace and stability and its implication for the region. Putin stated that Central Asian leaders and former Soviet Union states must avoid any spillover of ‘Radical Islam’ into their countries. He also called for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to prepare an action plan to keep ‘Islamic Extremism’ away from the region.

Russia’s change of stance towards the Taliban government was justified by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who praised the Taliban’s efforts to “counter terrorism and promote human rights in Afghanistan.” He further stated that an insufficient representation of the Taliban government on the international stage is a major obstacle to the Taliban-led government’s international recognition as a new authority in Afghanistan.

The Russian foreign minister also suggested the Taliban government to expand diplomatic and economic ties with other countries by establishing trade cooperation deals in order to deepen the regional and international ties.

*^{Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with the Taliban representatives in Moscow. (Image Credit: Kommersant/via Perild)}*

Earlier on December 31, 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told Tass in an interview that “The positive decision [of recognition of the Taliban government] will depend on evolvement of developments in Afghanistan, to be more specific – when the Taliban will fulfill their promises, including the establishment of the inclusive government, and efficient combating of terrorist and drug threats coming from the territory of Afghanistan.”

Lavrov added that the Russian government will “gradually move together with other members of the global community in linkage to that towards exclusion of the Taliban from sanction lists of the UN Security Council, which will create in its turn the basis for official recognition of the new government of Afghanistan.”