Russia ending Taliban terrorist organization designation

Oct. 5 (UPI) — Russia plans to remove Afghanistan’s governing Taliban government from its list of designated terrorist organizations, the Russian state-run TASS News Agency reported.

The United States, which removed its military from Afghanistan in 2021, hasn’t designated Taliban as a terrorist organization but doesn’t recognize the government.

Russian’s move has already been determined and is now only awaiting “finishing legal touches,” according to Russian officials.

“The [Russian] Foreign Ministry jointly with the FSB [Russian Federal Security Service] and a number of other Russian agencies are putting finishing legal touches on the removal of the Taliban movement from Russia’s list of terrorists,” Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told reporters in Moscow Friday.

“A principal decision on this has already been made by the Russian leadership. But the process should be carried out within the Russian legal framework. Hopefully, the final decision will be announced soon,”

Russia originally added the Taliban to its list of designated terrorist groups in 2003. The designation was in response to the Taliban at the time supporting separatist groups in the Caucasus region governed by Russia.

“The Taliban is ready to fight the most dangerous wing of the Islamic State (IS), ISIS-K, which is still getting material support from the West which uses the terrorist group’s capacity to carry out subversive false-flag operations on our soil,” the head of Russia’s FSB Alexander Bortnikov said Friday according to TASS.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also called on Western countries in a separate address Friday to follow Russia and lift their own sanctions against the Taliban.

“We once again appeal to Western countries with an urgent call to acknowledge responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan, lift sanctions restrictions, and return Kabul’s appropriated assets,” he said during opening remarks at a conference in Moscow.