Russia has officially removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations following a court ruling, effectively lifting a ban on the group after over 20 years. The decision came after the Russian Supreme Court approved a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office, citing a new law passed last year that allows courts to suspend the terrorist label under certain conditions.

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, right as U.S. and NATO forces were completing their withdrawal after twenty years of military presence. Since then, the group has introduced several laws seen as authoritarian, with many specifically limiting women's rights. 

According to Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst with Crisis Group’s Asia Program, the Taliban being labelled a terrorist organisation has created legal obstacles for trade and diplomatic engagement with Kabul. Removing this label, he said, signals Moscow’s intention to strengthen its relationship with the Taliban government. “However, beyond making it easier for individuals and businesses to engage with Afghanistan, I am not sure what other major benefit this will have,” Ibraheem Bahiss stated.

A recent decision by a Russian court marked a diplomatic win for the Taliban, who have been officially listed as a terrorist group by Moscow since 2003, meaning any engagement with them was considered illegal under Russian law. Despite this designation, Russia has hosted Taliban delegations at multiple events, aiming to assert itself as a key mediator in the region. Russia’s involvement in Afghanistan isn’t new; it dates back to the Soviet era, when the Soviet Union fought a decade-long war in the country before pulling out its forces in 1989.

Russian officials have been increasingly calling for dialogue with the Taliban as a way to support stability in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have recently taken the Taliban off their lists of designated terrorist organisations.