Russia becomes the first country to officially recognize the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, where China welcomes this step

Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021 after Moscow removed the group from the list of banned organizations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it had received credentials from the Ambassador of Gul Hassan Hassan in Afghanistan. The ministry said in a statement that the official recognition of the Afghan government will enhance “productive bilateral cooperation”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan described it as a “historic step”, and it was quoted by the Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan, who welcomes the decision as “a good example of other countries.”

“We believe that Russia’s move is a positive message for the rest of the world … We believe that some Islamic and regional countries may follow their example,” Taliban spokesman, Zabih Allah, Mujahideen, told CBS News.

China Russia’s decision was welcomed on Friday. “As a friendly, friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, the Chinese team believed that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning.

“Regardless of how the internal or external situation in Afghanistan changed, diplomatic relations between China and Afghanistan have not been interrupted,” she said.

Although the leadership of the group will undoubtedly welcome Russian and Chinese support, there was recognition that “Russia and China could not support us financially the way the Americans did.”

During two decades of US -backed rule in Afghanistan, there was a continuous flow of billions of dollars in the country, helping to pay the costs of everything from police and hospitals to schools and weapons for the army and the police. Since the Taliban regained power in the summer of 2021, this financial support has dried up almost from the United States and its allies.

“Only America and its allies can bring real comfort – if they choose to do so,” told the former Taliban official Youssafzai. “We know that.”

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of the United States and NATO forces. Since then, they sought international recognition during their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

While any country has not officially recognized the Taliban administration yet, the group has participated in high -level talks with many countries and held some diplomatic relations with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.

However, the Taliban government was relatively isolated on the world stage, to a large extent due to its restrictions on women.

Although the Taliban initially promised a more moderate base than it was during her first period in power from 1996 to 2001, she began to impose restrictions on women and girls shortly after the seizure of 2021. Women are prevented from most jobs and public places, including gardens, bathrooms and gyms, while girls are banned from education after the sixth grade.

Russian officials recently emphasized the need to communicate with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan, and have a ban on the Taliban in April.

The Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zernov, said in comments broadcast by the first country channel that the decision to formally recognize the Taliban government taken by President Vladimir Putin advice from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Cernov said the decision is that “the honest pursuit of Russia to develop full relations with Afghanistan.”

On Friday, the Taliban removed the three -color flag of the republic from the embassy building in Moscow and replaced it with their white flag, prompting reactions from the former Republic officials.

“An authoritarian system recognizes another”

“The Russian recognition of Taliban represents a turning point. It is proceeding with a system that prohibits girls from education, imposing general declines, and unconfirmed terrorists’ shelters, “wrote Mariam Solaim, a former member of Parliament in Afghanistan during the government of the Republic. “This step indicates that strategic interests will always outperform human rights and international law.”

“Recognition of Taliban by the countries that have supported them over the past twenty years is not surprising, but the main question is that this poverty will affect, or there is no effect on poverty, or it cannot have any poverty, or cannot have poverty, or has no poverty?

“The answer is clear: It seems that this political step is in the interest of the Taliban, but its negative effects in the long run on the Afghan people will be much greater.”

Turk Farhadi, veteran geopolitical analyst, believes that Russia is interested in rare ground minerals in Afghanistan. He said that Moscow’s recognition of Taliban makes financial investment possible for the Russian defense industry in the region.

“Afghanistan has rare ground mines, sediments, and Moscow has appointments from the Soviet day,” Faradi told CBS News. “Moscow officially recognizes Taliban, and it opens the door for investments because the rare land becomes a key to the auto industry and the defense industry. Moscow is interested in this place before anyone else returns to Afghanistan to such investments.”

“By supporting the Taliban regime, Russia has not only violated international standards, but also undermined the global consensus against recognition of a government with a very disturbing human rights record,” Mohamed Halim Fidai, a former governor of the province and civil society activist in exile in Germany, told CBS News.

“This step risk increasing Russia and Russia’s marginalization on the world stage.”

“Moreover, it offers defective assumptions by some in the West that the Taliban has fixed and respects basic rights. In the end, this support reflects a wider direction of authoritarian solidarity – an authoritarian system that recognizes another.”