Lavrov said Russia recognized the Afghan diplomat sent by the Taliban to Moscow in February.
“I would like to note that the first diplomat sent to Russia by the new Afghan government , who arrived in Moscow last month, has been recognized by the Russian Foreign Ministry,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 31 at the conference. ministerial level was held in Donxi, China among Afghanistan’s neighbors, to discuss the future of the country.
Lavrov said that the new administration in Afghanistan is working to expand economic and diplomatic relations. “Officials of the Taliban government regularly meet with foreign partners in a bilateral or multilateral manner in Moscow, Tehran, Doha, Oslo, Antalya and recently added Don Khe,” Foreign Minister Lavrov said. “These contacts spurred international recognition of the new government in Afghanistan.”
The meeting in Dunxi, chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was attended by interim Afghan Foreign Minister Khan Muttaqi and diplomats from Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Qatar.
Lavrov said Russia “cannot accept” any US or NATO military presence in countries bordering Afghanistan. He also expressed concern that the Islamic State (IS) group has plans to destabilize Central Asia.
Previously, on March 30, the Chinese Foreign Minister met privately with his counterparts from Russia, Pakistan and Qatar. Details of the meeting have not been released.
After the administration of US President Joe Biden announced the end of a 20-year military operation in Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their campaign to gain control of the Central Asian country’s territory. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered the capital Kabul and took over power without resistance.
Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani left the country and said he was resigning to stop the bloodshed. On September 6, 2021, the Taliban declared control of all of Afghanistan and announced a new interim government a few days later. However, no country in the world has yet recognized the government established by the Taliban.