RUSSIA RECOGIZES TALIBAN GOVERMENT

Written by Michael Thervil

 Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov shakes hands with leaders of the Taliban Government

[Russia recognizes Taliban government] While many western aligned nations cringe at the idea of the Taliban being the formal government of Afghanistan, there is one country that is wasting no time when it comes to calling a spade a spade and recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and that country is Russia. This comes on the heels of Russia signing an international economic deal with the Taliban two years prior in which they supplied the Taliban government with wheat, oil, and gas. Russia also removed the designation of the Taliban being a terrorist organization off their list of terrorist organizations roughly two months ago. Russia’s reasoning for this is that it seeks to foster diplomatic relations with the Taliban thus, enhancing their geopolitical influence in West Asia.

Taliban Foreign Minister Muttaqi stated that by Russia recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan demonstrated “a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement. In kind, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it saw the opportunity for “commercial and economic cooperation in energy, transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure”. Both countries have met previously to begin talks on how to commercialize the natural resources of each other countries to the benefit of the other. Russia also pledged a commitment to aid the Taliban government in countering threats of terrorism as well as drug trafficking.

OUR POSITION AT VEDA WORLD NEWS

Granted the Taliban and Russia fought wars against each other in the past, but we see this new forging of an alliance between the two nations as a positive step in the right direction for both countries. Given the fact that Russia is seeking to expand both its presence and influence in nearly every country that lies outside of the influence of the collective west and with the Taliban being in need of ally’s, this seems to be the perfect opportunity for countries to “feed off each other” geopolitically.

The Taliban desperately needs commercial and economic cooperation in energy, transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure if they wish to remain in power for the coming decades; and we sense that the Taliban recognizes this. Moreover, we also sense that the Taliban understands that the world is changing and that their brutal ways of governance in the past are simply counter-productive in today's times. With that being said, we don’t foresee the Taliban straying away from Sharia Law either – and why should they?

While western backed Afghan leaders and organizations such as former Afghan politician Fawzia Koofi, former Afghan National Security Adviser Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta and the Afghans’ Women’s Political Participation Network scoff at the idea of the Taliban taking over the government in Afghanistan and being recognized by Russia. This leads many to wonder if those that seek to push for secular reform in Afghanistan are failing to see that it’s not the Taliban that needs to change - but those seeking secular reform are the ones that need to change in terms of their thinking.

With Russia being the first to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, Russia puts themselves ahead of the curve when it comes to building and fostering both diplomatic and commercial relations with the Taliban. in doing so, we predict that both sides will reap the benefits of such.