On July 3, an Afghan official, Gul Hassan, presented his credentials as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Russia. The guest was received amiably by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, as per photographs issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow.

Russia had already accepted the nomination of Afghanistan’s representative in Moscow. This occasion was an improvement over the past to have a full-fledged ambassador. Issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ensuing statement said, “We believe that the act of official recognition of the Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields.” In this statement, though Russia has not used to words “awarding any recognition to the Kabul regime”, the mere acceptance of Afghanistan’s representative in Moscow as ambassador is construed as the announcement of recognition from Russia. Per se, Russia has acknowledged the Islamic Emirate (run by the Afghan Taliban) as the lawful authority of Afghanistan.

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Though Russia took the lead, efforts had been going on for quite some time. In January 2024, China became the first country to admit the credentials of the representative of the Afghan Taliban appointed in Beijing. Reciprocally, China also appointed its ambassador to Kabul. Around this time, Russia also accepted the nomination of Afghanistan’s representative in Moscow.

China took the initiative to offer legitimacy to the Afghan Taliban. In 2025, on May 21, China hosted an informal trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Beijing. On the occasion, both Pakistan and Afghanistan promised to........

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