"Need dialog"

Russia wants to remove Taliban from terror list

A Taliban fighter

(Bild: AP)

According to its own statements, Russia wants to remove the Afghan Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations. Afghanistan is a country that is close to Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press in Moscow on Tuesday. The Taliban effectively ruled Afghanistan. The Russian government was communicating with the radical Islamists "like practically everyone else".

For Russia, there are urgent problems to solve with the Taliban. "This also requires dialogue," emphasized Peskov. He left open which specific issues were involved. However, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, ISPK, recently claimed responsibility for the attack on a concert hall near Moscow.

IS offshoot from Afghanistan behind Moscow attack
More than 140 people died in the attack by armed men. Citing intelligence information, the USA and France confirmed that the IS offshoot from Afghanistan was behind the attack. However, Russia has stated that a link to Ukraine is also being investigated, which the government in Kiev categorically rejects. The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. However, they are still on Russia's list of organizations that are classified as terrorist.