Russia Becomes First State to Recognise Taliban as Rightful Afghan Government

On 3 July 2025, Russia became the first country to recognise formally the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. While Moscow’s decision may have been unexpected, the causes driving closer engagement between Kabul and Moscow are far from new. At least 17 countries have established embassies in Taliban-run Afghanistan. Taliban-appointed diplomats also represent Afghanistan in most capitals across Asia, albeit at chargé d’affaires level.

The normalisation of diplomatic ties with the Taliban since their 2021 takeover has come gradually. China became the first country to accredit a Taliban diplomat as an ambassador in December 2023. Beijing was nonetheless quick to claim that this did not amount to diplomatic recognition. Since then, several other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Türkiye and Pakistan, have upgraded diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level. Moscow went one step further, both accepting a Taliban ambassador and announcing it was formally recognising their government.

Russia was one of several countries in the vicinity of Afghanistan that have kept their embassies open since the Taliban takeover. It was also one of the first countries to try to forge a common regional approach toward the de facto government. In September 2022, it signed a major oil, gas and wheat agreement with Kabul. Although it has been critical of the presence of transnational jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Moscow has found a willing partner in the Taliban in addressing the threat posed by Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (IS-KP), which was involved in the March 2024 Crocus City Hall attack that killed 145 people.

Moscow went on to remove the Taliban from its list of designated terrorist organisations in April 2025. Russian special envoy Zamir Kabulov has called for military support to the Taliban to combat “hotbeds of international terrorism”, and stated that Afghan authorities will participate as a full member in the upcoming Moscow Format meeting – a regional forum for addressing concerns around the country.

As Crisis Group has reported, countries across South and Central Asia are likely to continue exploring ways to deepen engagement with the Taliban-led government and reward cooperation from Kabul. Tackling the security threats faced by the region, including transnational groups such as IS-KP, depends on closer coordination with the Taliban. Kabul’s role in combating this threat, as well as its desire to connect Central Asia to South Asia through various mega-projects in electricity, trade, oil pipelines and the Trans-Afghan Railway, have served a key role in driving Afghanistan and nearby countries closer together.

As contact with the Taliban intensify, more states could follow in Moscow’s footsteps, among them China. Some, like Uzbekistan, have already hinted that recognition of the Taliban government was “inevitable”. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on Afghanistan’s current representative to the UN, Naseer Faiq, now that a veto-wielding member of the Security Council has recognised the Taliban. Likewise, the future of the international consensus around withholding recognition as a way to change Taliban rule, especially regarding treatment of women and girls, looks more unsettled.