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Kremlin Deepens Taliban Partnership With New Military-Technical Agreement

Russia and the Taliban signed a military-technical cooperation agreement during a security forum in the Moscow region, highlighting Moscow’s steadily expanding ties with Kabul. The contents of the agreement have not been officially disclosed. The move follows Russia’s suspension of the Taliban’s ter

Kyiv Post

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28 mai 2026

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Russia and the Afghan Taliban movement signed a military-technical cooperation agreement.

According to Russian media on Wednesday, the document was concluded during the International Security Forum held in the Moscow region.

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The contents of the agreement have not been officially disclosed.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after overthrowing the foreign-backed government and subsequently imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

At a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yakub said Kabul and Moscow had significantly expanded bilateral cooperation.

Moscow’s rapprochement with the Taliban has been developing in stages. On May 14, Shoigu openly stated that Russia was building a “full-fledged partnership” with the movement and urged other countries in the region to expand contacts with Kabul.

In April 2025, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on Taliban activities in the country. Before that, the movement had officially been designated as a terrorist organization in Russia.

The Kremlin has also accepted a Taliban ambassador to Moscow.

Afghanistan’s government said in July 2025 that Russia had become the first country to officially recognize Taliban rule, calling the move a “brave decision.”

The announcement came after Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov in Kabul.

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“This brave decision will be an example for others... Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting published on X.

Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal confirmed the development to AFP, saying Russia had become “the first country which has officially recognized the Islamic Emirate,” using the Taliban’s name for its administration.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Telegram that official recognition would help expand “productive bilateral cooperation” in several areas.

Moscow has steadily deepened ties with the Taliban in recent years. In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the Taliban as “allies in the fight against terrorism.”

Russia was also the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover and has discussed plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas supplies to Southeast Asia.

The decision drew sharp criticism from Afghan women’s rights activists and former lawmakers.

Mariam Solaimankhil, a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament, said the move “legitimizes a regime that bans girls from education, enforces public floggings, and shelters UN-sanctioned terrorists.”

“The move signals that strategic interests will always outweigh human rights and international law,” she added.

Senior Taliban figures remain under international sanctions, including sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Another former Afghan MP, Fawzia Koofi, warned that recognizing the Taliban “will not bring peace – it will legitimize impunity” and could “endanger not just the people of Afghanistan, but global security.”