President Putin made the decision to ‘improve cooperation on drug trafficking and terrorism.’

Russia has become the first nation to formally recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government during a ceremony in Moscow on 5 July, as Molavi Gul Hassan Hassan, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Russia, presented a copy of his credentials to Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Yuryevich Rudenko.

Moscow’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, explained to RT that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision for the sake of jointly fighting terrorism and drug trafficking.

“First of all, Afghanistan is important in the sense that we have well-known concerns about terrorism that used to come out of Afghanistan. Second is drug trafficking. And since we found out that the current regime was doing its best to cope with this problem, it was important to keep a close partnership with the current government of Afghanistan,” Kabulov stated.

Moscow says that the Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, killed more than 130 people last year at a concert hall outside Moscow, the deadliest terror attack in Russia in decades.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi stated, “We value this courageous step taken by Russia, and, God willing, it will serve as an example for others as well.”

Recognition of the government in Kabul is also important to facilitate cooperation in various fields with Moscow, including in trade and energy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Taliban took power in the country in 2021 following the withdrawal of US occupation forces and the collapse of the Washington-backed government.

The Taliban quickly cracked down on the opium and heroin trade that had blossomed under the eye of US occupation troops and intelligence agencies.

At the same time, the movement reimposed its harsh interpretation of Islamic law in the country, including drastic restrictions on women’s rights and education.

In 2022, Russia became the first country to sign an international economic agreement with the Taliban, agreeing to supply the country with oil, gas, and wheat.

In April, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations.

Afghanistan has been at war for much of the past four decades. In 1979, the Soviet Union, which included Russia, invaded and occupied the country to prop up a leftist government.

With the help of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the United States armed and funded Islamic extremists, known as the mujahideen, to fight the Soviet Red Army. Some of these fighters later formed Al-Qaeda.

In 1996, after the Soviet withdrawal and several years of brutal civil war, the Taliban took power in the country.

The US invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Taliban in October 2001, following the attacks of 11 September in New York. US leaders blamed the attacks on Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda leader, then living in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

The Cradle Media report

It’s funny how the US decades ago created and armed the pre-runner of the Taliban (The Mujahideen) to counter Russia, and today, we witness the Russian and Taliban rapprochement.

Wicked imperialist America’s end is near.