"We all expect Taliban, those people who undoubtedly control the situation in the country, in Afghanistan, we expect the situation to develop positively. Depending on that we will jointly take the decision on excluding them from the list of terrorist organizations. It seems to me that we are getting close to it. Russia's position will be to move in that direction," Putin said.
His statements have come a day after Putin had urged western governments to unfreeze Afghanistan's financial assets and resume economic support for the South Asian country. Putin said this will help bring stability in the country, which will further help Afghanistan's neighboring countries too.
Washington has said it has no intention of releasing nearly $9 billion in Afghan central-bank reserves held in the United States that it froze after the Taliban seized power, despite warnings from humanitarian groups and the UN about the collapse of Afghanistan's economy and deepening humanitarian crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized this week that Moscow was "in no rush" to recognize the Taliban as the new rulers of Afghanistan, but he added there were "encouraging signals" of their readiness to let other political forces join the government and allow girls into schools.
The Taliban was added to the Russian list of terrorist organizations in 2003, and Moscow has not yet moved to remove the group from the list. Any contact with such groups is punishable under Russian law, but the Foreign Ministry has responded to questions about the seeming contradiction by saying that its exchanges with the Taliban are essential for international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
Unlike many other countries, Russia said it wouldn't evacuate its embassy in Kabul, and its ambassador quickly met with the Taliban for what he described as "constructive" talks after they took over the capital.
A month before Taliban militants unleashed their offensive that ended with the seizure of Kabul on August 15, their delegation visited Moscow to offer assurances that they wouldn't threaten the interests of Russia and its ex-Soviet allies in Central Asia a sign that they consider ties with Russia a priority.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Sohail Shaheen said during a visit to the Russian capital that "we won't allow anyone to use the Afghan territory to attack Russia or neighboring countries," noting that "we have very good relations with Russia."
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