Russia has become the first country to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan as Moscow removed the group from the list of its illegal organizations in 2021.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced that it had received credit from Afghanistan’s newly appointed ambassador Gul Hasan Hasan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will “promote productive bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a “historic step”, and said the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki as a “a good example for other countries”.
Said Karakan/Anadolu through Getty Image 
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told CBS News, “We believe that Russia’s move is a positive message for the rest of the world. We think some Muslim and regional countries can follow suits.”
China welcomed Russia’s decision on Friday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, “As a traditional friendly neighbor from Afghanistan, the Chinese side has always admitted that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community.”
“No matter how internal or external positions change in Afghanistan, diplomatic relations between China and Afghanistan have never been interrupted,” he said.
A former senior Taliban officer told CBS News’ Sami Yusufzai on Friday that there would be no doubt under the leadership of the group that Russian and Chinese support would not be welcomed, a belief that “Russia and China could not support us financially in which Americans did.”
During the two decades of the US -backed regime in Afghanistan, there was a stable flow of billions of dollars in the country, which helps to pay everything from police salary and hospitals to schools and weapons to military and police. Since the Taliban withdrew power in summer of 2021, financial assistance from the US and its allies has almost dried up.
The former Taliban official told Josephzai, “Only the US and its allies can bring real relief – if they choose,” the former Taliban officer told Yusufzai. “we know that.”
The Taliban controlled Afghanistan after the return of the US and NATO in August 2021. Since then, he has sought international recognition by implementing his strict interpretation of Islamic law.
While no country had until now formally recognized the Taliban administration, the groups were engaged in high-level talks with many countries and established some diplomatic relations with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.
Nevertheless, the Taliban government is relatively isolated on the world platform, roughly on women’s restrictions.
Although the Taliban initially promised a more liberal rule during its first term in power from 1996 to 2001, began to implement ban on women and girls soon after the acquisition of 2021. Women are stopped from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade.
Russian officials are recently emphasized the need to join with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan, and lifted the ban on the Taliban in April.
Russia’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Dimitri Zirnov, said in a comment by State Channel One Television that the decision to officially recognize the Taliban government was made by President Vladimir Putin on the advice of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavarov.
Zirnova said that this decision “efforts honestly for Russia’s development of full relations with Afghanistan.”
On Friday, the Taliban took down the oblique flag of the Republic from the embassy building in Moscow and replaced it with its white flag, inspiring reactions from the former Republic officials.
“A totalitarian rule gives another recognition”
“Recognition of Russia’s Taliban is a significant turn. It gives validity to a governance that restrictions to girls from education, publicly applies fluttering, and shelters to non-approved militants,” Maraim Solamkhel, a former member of Afghanistan, was written on social media during the Republic Government. “This step indicates that strategic interests will always overtake human rights and international law.”
The charge of the Afghan Permanent Mission for the United Nations D’Fare Naseer A. Fak said, “The belief of the Taliban by countries supporting him in the last twenty years is not surprising. But the main question is whether this belief will have an impact of political, economic, social, and humanitarian situation.
“The answer is clear: This political step is clearly in the interests of the Taliban, but its long -term negative effects on Afghan people will be very high.”
An experienced geopolitical analyst, then Furhadi believes that Russia is interested in rare earth minerals in Afghanistan. He said that Taliban’s recognition of Moscow makes financial investment possible for Russia’s defense industry in the field.
Ferhadi told CBS News, “There are rare earth mines in Afghanistan and Moscow has Soviet day mapping.” “Moscow officially recognizes the Taliban, it opens the door for investment as the rare Earth becomes important for the auto industry and the defense industry. Moscow is interested in this place, before anyone else returns to Afghanistan for such investment.”
“By supporting the Taliban rule, Russia has not only violated international criteria, but also reduced global consent against recognizing a government with a deep disturbing human rights record,” told CBS News, Mohammad Haleem Fidai told CBS News, a former provincial governor and activist of civil society in exile in Germany, but also reduced the global consent against recognizing a government with a deep disturbing human rights records.
“This step risks on the world stage keeping both Russia and Taliban marginalized.”
“Furthermore, it highlights the flawed assumptions by some people in the West that the Taliban had improved and respect the basic rights. Ultimately, this support reflects a broader tendency of ritualist solidarity – a totalitarian rule that recognizes the other.”
