Moscow accepts Taliban envoy, marking formal recognition of Afghan govt

Russia says recognising Taliban will boost productive bilateral ties across various fields

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Russia said on Thursday it had accepted the credentials of a new ambassador from Afghanistan, effectively becoming the first country to officially recognise the Taliban government.

"We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Afghanistan's foreign minister said on Thursday that Russia's decision to become the first country to recognise their government was a "brave decision".

"This brave decision will be an example for others... Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone," said Amir Khan Muttaqi in a video of a meeting with Dmitry Zhirnov, the Russian ambassador to Kabul, posted on X.