On July 3, Russia officially recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan, becoming the first country to do so since the group seized power in August 2021.
The move follows years of steadily warming ties between Moscow and Kabul, including energy cooperation deals signed in 2022, the removal of the Taliban from Russia’s list of terrorist organisations on April 17 this year and the recent exchange of ambassadors.
The announcement of recognition was made during a meeting in Kabul between Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov.
Taliban government’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal confirmed the news in a video statement, emphasising, “Russia is the first country which has officially recognised the Islamic Emirate,” referring to the Taliban’s preferred name for their administration, which is still widely shunned by the international community.
In a separate statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it believed the official recognition would “give an impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation” and pledged continued support for Kabul in “strengthening regional security and fighting terrorist threats and drug crime’’.
From enemy to ally: Why Russia made the first move
Russia’s recognition is not just a strategic shift, but also a striking reversal of history. It is now legitimising a government formed by the same Taliban forces whose ideological predecessors helped drive out Soviet troops from Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to support the erstwhile communist government in the country, its client state at the time, and remained in the country till being driven out in 1989.
While the fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan remains a painful chapter in Russian history, claiming the lives of around 15,000 Soviet soldiers and contributing to the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it has also become a lens through which many Russians interpret the US failure in the region.
For some, the swift collapse of the American-backed Afghan government in 2021 served as a vindication of Moscow’s past strategy and reinforced Russia’s belief in its deeper understanding of Afghan dynamics.
The Kremlin’s decision is rooted in three key geopolitical objectives. First of all, Russia is seeking to fill the strategic vacuum left by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
According to the political scientist Charles E. Ziegler, the abrupt end of America’s two-decade presence, which started following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, created an opening for regional actors like Russia to expand their influence and reposition themselves as dominant players in Central Asia.
The absence of a reliable successor to uphold Washington’s regional vision has, observers argue, opened the door for Moscow to deepen its presence in Central Asia and present itself as a regional security guarantor.
Russia has historically regarded Central Asia as part of its sphere of influence. Its recent steps, such as forming bilateral partnerships and engaging in multilateral frameworks like the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, reflect a broader push to reassert dominance against Western involvement.
The recognition complements similar moves by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, which have recently deepened trade and energy ties with the Taliban government.
The second issue is that the Russian officials increasingly view the Taliban as a stabilising force in Afghanistan, particularly in curbing the influence of the regional affiliates of the terrorist organisation Daesh.
This perspective has gained traction as security concerns grow over the group’s operations across Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Tensions escalated in March 2024 when the Daesh branch carried out a devastating attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, killing over 130 people.
The incident marked one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Russia in decades and prompted Moscow to deepen security coordination with the Taliban, who are also actively engaged in fighting Daesh within Afghan territory.
According to the London-based TV station Afghanistan International, Russia regards the Taliban as pragmatic actors — cooperative on border security and unlikely to spread regional instability.
From Moscow’s perspective, formal recognition of the Taliban is not about political endorsement, but securing leverage in a shifting geopolitical landscape.
A third factor shaping Russia’s decision to recognise the Taliban government is the evolving landscape of Afghanistan’s drug economy.
Under Taliban administration, Afghanistan has seen a dramatic decline in opium production following a strict poppy cultivation ban announced in April 2022.
According to UN data, poppy cultivation dropped by over 95 percent from 2022 to 2023, a shift that aligns with the Taliban’s efforts to portray itself as a responsible actor capable of addressing long-standing international concerns.
Moscow, long burdened by drug trafficking from Afghanistan via Central Asia, views the Taliban government’s enforcement of the ban as a potential security gain.
However, this apparent progress masks deeper structural challenges. While opium output has plummeted, the vacuum has accelerated a pivot towards synthetic drug production, particularly methamphetamine, creating new public health and trafficking risks across the region.
With vast stockpiles of opium still in circulation and a growing synthetic drug trade, Russia is likely seeking greater influence in Afghan counter-narcotics policy to protect its borders and curtail regional drug flows.
In this context, formal recognition offers Moscow a stronger diplomatic channel to engage the Taliban on shared drug control and security objectives.
Will China and Gulf states follow?
While Russia has formally recognised the Taliban government, other major regional actors have taken a more cautious approach.
China has ramped up its economic engagement with Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, but it has stopped short of a formal diplomatic recognition.
In January 2023, Beijing signed a $540 million oil extraction agreement with the Taliban administration, marking the first major international energy deal under the new regime.
More recently, in May 2025, China, Pakistan, and the Taliban government agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan, a move aimed at strengthening regional connectivity and fostering economic development.
These moves signal Beijing’s pragmatic engagement with the Taliban administration, driven largely by security interests and economic opportunity.
Yet, despite growing trade and infrastructure ties, China has refrained from granting formal diplomatic recognition to the group-led administration, likely due to concerns over the group’s governance practices and international legitimacy.
Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, have also deepened their contacts with the group without taking the final step towards official recognition.
The UAE has hosted high-level Taliban officials and reopened its embassy in Kabul, while Qatar continues to play a key mediating role between the Taliban rule and the international community.
Since 2013, Qatar has hosted the Taliban’s political office in Doha, which became the central venue for peace talks with the United States and other stakeholders. The 2020 Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban government, paving the way for the eventual withdrawal of American forces, was brokered on Qatari soil.
Despite these gestures, Gulf governments remain noncommittal, balancing regional influence and humanitarian cooperation with concerns over global backlash and human rights issues.
Russia’s recognition of the Taliban administration marks a major shift in international engagement with Afghanistan’s rulers, driven by Moscow’s security and geopolitical interests.
Yet other regional powers like China and the Gulf states remain cautious, opting for pragmatic cooperation without formal recognition.
Afghanistan’s path to legitimacy under Taliban administration remains constrained by concerns over rights, governance, and internal stability.
