Russia and Taliban Forge New Military Cooperation Agreement

Russia and Afghanistan, currently governed by the Taliban, have finalized a deal concerning military and technical cooperation.

The document was signed on May 27, during the International Security Forum held in the Moscow region, according to Interfax.

During the event, Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqub met with the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu.

Yaqub highlighted the importance of the ongoing relationship between the two nations, noting that Kabul and Moscow have already expanded their bilateral ties. He stated, "Interaction with Russia has an important meaning for us. Afghanistan and Russia have long and historical relations, in this direction we want to move further. We have expanded bilateral relations."

Shoigu addressed the Western response to the situation in Afghanistan during the meeting. He remarked, "We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognize the full extent of responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan and take upon themselves the full burden of post-event recovery of the country."

Earlier this month, on May 14, in Bishkek, Shoigu noted that Russia had developed a functional dialogue with the Taliban leadership.

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At that time, while addressing security council secretaries from Shanghai Cooperation Organization nations, he explained, "Russia recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in July 2025 and built a pragmatic dialogue with the Taliban movement. We are consistently establishing a full-fledged partnership - from contacts in the sphere of politics and security to trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian cooperation. We are convinced that interaction with Kabul meets the tasks of security and economic development of the region."

Military and technical agreements typically involve the exchange of armaments, licensing, military technologies, and the pursuit of joint development projects. Russia became one of the first countries to engage with the Taliban administration following the withdrawal of United States forces from the country in 2021.

In Russia, the Taliban movement was recognized as a terrorist organization in 2003 after being added to the corresponding list by the United Nations Security Council. At the same time, Moscow maintained contacts with the Taliban for many years. In March 2022, Russia accredited the first diplomat of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government after the movement took control of the Central Asian country.

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In 2025, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Taliban’s activities, and the movement was removed from the register of terrorist organizations.

In July 2025, Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan after accepting the credentials of the new Afghan ambassador in Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it saw strong prospects for developing bilateral ties and planned to expand cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure.

The move marked a major step in ending the Taliban’s international isolation and reflected Moscow’s growing partnership with Kabul following the lifting of Russia’s ban on the Taliban movement earlier that year.

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