Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for Moscow to “build up” relations with the Islamic Emirate government in Afghanistan.
Speaking to senior editors of foreign news agencies on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said: “We have always believed that we need to deal with reality. The Taliban are in power in Afghanistan… We have to build up relations with the Taliban government.”
This comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that Moscow planned to take the Islamic Emirate off its list of banned terrorist organizations.
“They are the real power” in Afghanistan, Lavrov said at the time, speaking during a visit by Putin to Uzbekistan in Central Asia.
The Islamic Emirate has been designated a terrorist organization in Russia since 2003.
Abdulmanan Omari, Afghanistan’s acting minister of labor and social affairs, is meanwhile attending this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
According to the ministry, Omari left for Russia on Wednesday morning.