Russia Foreign Minister denies official recognition of Taliban authorities

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has emphasized that official recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan which took power in August last year is not possible despite maintaining working contacts.

Official recognition of the government of the Taliban movement in Kabul will depend on how their promises are fulfilled, including on countering threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to Frontier Post.

Further, Russia maintains working contacts with representatives of the Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) who came to power in Afghanistan, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"We maintain working contacts with representatives of the new Afghan authorities, including through our embassy in Kabul. In the context of the socio-economic crisis, the humanitarian sphere is becoming a particularly urgent area of practical interaction," the Russian Foreign Minister noted.

Russian Foreign Minister recalled that the Russian side delivered several consignments of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in November and December, and also helped Afghan students get to the Russian Federation to continue their studies.

"Our colleagues from the Russian Ministry of Defense are making a great useful contribution to these noble efforts," he said.

"Official recognition of the government of the Taliban movement in Kabul will depend on how their promises are fulfilled, including on countering threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan," he added.

The Russian Foreign Minister further mentioned that Afghanistan's effort in counter-terrorism will be watched.

"In connection with this, we will, in solidarity with the rest of the world community, gradually move towards the exclusion of the Taliban movement from the UN Security Council sanctions lists, which in turn would create the basis for the official recognition of the new government of Afghanistan," Lavrov said.

Earlier, Russia delivered to Afghanistan the third batch of humanitarian aid weighing 36 tons, consisting of food and medicine in December.

Meanwhile, 200 passengers, including Russian citizens and Afghan students, who are studying in Russia, arrived in Moscow by special export flights of the Russian Defense Ministry from Kabul.

In the period from August 26 to December 1, 770 citizens of the Russian Federation, the CSTO member states (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia), Ukraine and Afghanistan were evacuated from the territory of Afghanistan by military transport aircraft, and more than 100 tons of humanitarian cargo were delivered, according to Frontier Post.