Russia’s recognition of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomed

Mao Ning recalled that China maintains good-neighborly relations with the Afghan side

On April 17, the Russian Supreme Court granted a plea from the prosecutor general to suspend the ban on the Taliban’s activities in the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the removal of the Taliban’s status as a terrorist group, paving the way for building a comprehensive partnership with Kabul in the interests of the Russian and Afghan peoples.

On July 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Moscow had formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Later that day, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko accepted credentials from Gul Hassan, Afghanistan’s new ambassador to Russia. The ambassador arrived in Moscow on July 1.

While Russia has formally recognized the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan, India has maintained a cautious approach since the Taliban takeover in 2021, primarily focusing on humanitarian aid and engagement with the Taliban on issues like counter-terrorism and trade.

India has a “technical team” in Kabul and has allowed Taliban diplomatic staff in New Delhi, but hasn’t formally recognized the government. Till now India has not formally recognized the Taliban regime that seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 but has been engaging with the Taliban on issues like counter-terrorism and trade.

Now the Chinese government has also welcomed Russia’s official recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. China said that maintains good-neighborly relations with the Afghan side and has always believed that Afghanistan should not be isolated from the international community.

Even after the formation of the interim Government of Afghanistan, the foreign policy missions of both countries located on each other’s territory continued to operate normally and that played a positive role in the development of bilateral interstate relations between Afghanistan and China.