Russia to elevate Afghan diplomatic mission to ambassador level

Moscow: Russia has announced that it will elevate the Afghan diplomatic mission in Moscow to ambassador level, a latest move to further strengthen bilateral relations with the Taliban authorities.

Moscow has taken steps to normalise relations with the Islamist Taliban administration since the group seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Russian officials had held talks with Afghanistan’s Foreign and Internal Ministers.

“Representatives of the Afghan leadership were informed that in support of the decision announced by the Russian Supreme Court to suspend the ban on the activities of the Taliban movement, the Russian side has decided to raise the level of the Afghan diplomatic mission in Moscow to ambassador,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, has met with Afghan Foreign and Interior Ministers and informed them of the decision, the Ministry added.

The Russian side was represented by Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, and Dmitry Zhirnov, Moscow’s ambassador to Kabul, it said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the Afghan side “expressed their deep gratitude for this step”.

Russia sees a potential economic partner in the Taliban authorities, who praised Moscow for scrapping the “terrorism” label last week.

Taliban officials have visited Russia for high-profile events in recent years.

Russia’s decision to suspend the ban on the group does not equal a formal recognition for the Taliban authorities, which are seeking international legitimacy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that “the new authorities in Kabul are a reality”.

“We need to take this into account in order to carry out pragmatic, not ideologised policy,” the Minister told journalists.

The Afghan government is not officially recognised by any country or world body and the United Nations refers to the administration as the “Taliban de facto authorities”.

Last week, Russia removed Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations and suspended the ban on the activities of the Taliban in Russia.

The move came as Russian lawmakers voted in December last year to adopt a bill on introducing a mechanism to suspend bans on the activities of terror groups.

IANS