Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev said at a meeting with the parliamentary leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) countries that his country had removed the Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organisations.
This was done because of the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with modern Afghanistan and the realisation that this regime is a long-term factor, the Interfax news agency quoted Tokayev as saying.
Last week, the Russian foreign and justice ministries proposed to President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban be removed from the list of proscribed organisations.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the same day that the Taliban was the real power in Afghanistan, a country of particular concern to Russia and its allies in Central Asia.
Putin went on to say that the Taliban currently control the territory of Afghanistan, so Moscow will build relations on the basis of today’s realities.
The Taliban have ruled Afghanistan since August 2021. Its government is not recognised by UN member states, but many, including Russia, are in contact with the organisation.
