The Islamic Emirate has praised Russia’s decision to pass legislation that paves the way for normalizing relations with Afghanistan’s interim government.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, described Russia’s move as a positive step toward strengthening ties between Kabul and Moscow. He also called on other countries to remove the Islamic Emirate from their list of banned groups.
Fitrat stated: “We consider this a positive step, and it will play an important role in expanding bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation. Other countries should also take similar steps and remove the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from their list of banned groups.”
Previously, removing the Islamic Emirate from Russia’s blacklist had been discussed multiple times by senior Russian officials.
On the 20th of this month, the Russian State Duma also passed a bill allowing the removal of the Islamic Emirate from the country’s blacklist.
Janat Faheem Chakari, a political analyst, said: “Russia holds a significant political and military position in the region. If relations between Afghanistan and Russia improve and Russia possibly recognizes the Islamic Emirate, other countries aligned with Russia’s stance are likely to follow suit.”
Saleem Paigir, another political analyst, stated: “Governments that follow Russia’s policies are likely to imitate this move, particularly Central Asian countries, China, and others. They will almost certainly do the same.”
This development comes as the Russian parliament passed a law on Tuesday that allows the country’s Supreme Court to suspend the blacklist designation of groups identified as banned by Moscow, thus opening the door for normalizing relations with Afghanistan’s interim government.