Russia Becomes First Country to Officially Recognize Taliban Administration in Afghanistan

Russia Becomes First Country to Officially Recognize Taliban Administration in Afghanistan
Moscow Leads as First to Formally Acknowledge Taliban Government
“This step will further expand bilateral relations between the two countries” — Afghan Foreign Ministry

Moscow, July 4, 2025 —
Russia has officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The announcement was made on Thursday in an interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti by Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed the development, stating that Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and formally conveyed the message of recognition. Zhirnov called the move “a historic step toward strengthening relations between the two countries.”

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “This step will further expand bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia.”

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed hope that this recognition would open a new chapter of cooperation and further strengthen Afghanistan–Russia ties.

Speaking on the state television channel Rossiya-1, Zhirnov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to recognize the Taliban government based on the recommendation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said, “This decision reflects Russia’s sincere intention to establish a full-fledged partnership with Afghanistan.”

Russia is now the first country to officially recognize the Taliban administration.

Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, no United Nations member state had formally recognized their interim government.

War-torn Afghanistan is currently facing a severe economic crisis. Nearly four years ago, after the withdrawal of foreign troops, the United States froze $7 billion of Afghanistan's foreign assets.

So far, only a few countries — such as China — have accepted ambassadors appointed by the Taliban-led administration. In September 2023, China sent its own ambassador to Kabul.

Earlier on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received copies of the credentials of Afghanistan’s newly appointed ambassador, Gul Hassan Hassan.

In a statement, the ministry said:
“We believe that the official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will provide a strong foundation for the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields.”