• Source:JND

Russia has signed a military cooperation agreement with the Taliban as part of strengthening ties with the Islamic state. Moscow is the only country to formally recognise the Taliban government.

The treaty was ratified at an international security forum in Moscow attended by senior Taliban leaders, including Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.

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A year ago, the Moscow government had removed the extremist regime from a list of proscribed terrorist groups. The development occurred after a meeting between the Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov and Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. Afghan officials marked the meetup as a “historic step" and the beginning of a new era in bilateral relations.

At the meeting, Yaqoob called Russia an important regional and global power and said bilateral relations between the two sides were expanding.

In the gathering, Yaqoob said that Kabul and Moscow have a historic relationship and wish to "expand" it further.

“Russia is an important country in our region and throughout the world,” Yaqoub added.

“We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognise their responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and bear the burden of the country’s post-conflict reconstruction,” Shoigu, an aide to Vladimir Putin and former defence minister, said.

The Taliban leader added that its government has taken significant measures to combat terrorism and drug trafficking. The meeting marks the first-ever meet attended by the Taliban after Moscow officially recognised the group as the government of Afghanistan.

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Earlier in May, Shoigu claimed that Moscow had established dialogue with the Taliban and was developing "a full-fledged partnership" with the regime.

Should Ukraine Worry?

The agreement does indicate that Afghanistan might send its men to the frontlines shortly. Given that a similar thing occurred in 2024, after North Korea sent its troops to Russia after it signed a military pact with Moscow. However, analysts slightly differ from this.

At present, the Taliban is grappling with tensions, given its increasing instability in the northern Afghan provinces; fear of Pakistani intervention remains constant. In such a situation, it would need Russia's aid with the repair of military equipment, or "supplies of some outdated weapons would be quite timely." However, Russia would be unlikely to share sophisticated technologies due to proliferation risks,” Aleksei Zakhrov, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, told The Independent.

Russia, on the other hand, is suffering economically; it does not have sufficient resources to equip the soldiers.

Hameed Hakimi, research associate at ODI Global, a London-based think tank, claimed, “The symbolism of the agreement with Russia will allow the Taliban to claim external legitimacy and create a PR moment to influence public opinion domestically.

Russian analyst Ruslan Suleymanov told The Insider, a Russia-focused independent media outlet based in Latvia, that the deal is a political signal rather than a sign of imminent military support.

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