Undecided about recognising Taliban so far: Russia

Russia remains undecided about its plans to recognise the Taliban nearly a month after the militant group took control of Afghanistan’s national capital Kabul, according to media reports citing statements from Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian President.

The spokesperson said that Russia is currently trying to understand if the Taliban will remain true to its “promises and statements” but stopped short of saying if the decision to recognise the group would be dependent on it.

Peskov said, “You know that no decisions to recognize the Taliban have been made so far. Also, you know that we are keeping a close watch on what is happening there”, according to reports from the Economic Times.

The statement added, “What is most important, we are trying to understand to what extent the Taliban’s promises and statements will correlate with their future actions.”

The Presidential spokesperson added that Russia is attempting to analyse the functionality of the Taliban “in systemic and personal terms” while being in control of Afghanistan.

The announcement comes after the Taliban invited Russia, among other countries, to Afghanistan to attend the ceremony where a new government would be formed. Other countries included China, Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Iran.

The Taliban, on Tuesday, announced an acting government as it paid homage to the old guard of the group by giving them top posts.

While Mohammad Hasan Akhun will lead the interim government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was named his deputy. Both the senior leaders have dominated the 20-year battle against the United States-led coalition and its Afghan government allies.

Mullah Hasan had also headed the Taliban government in Kabul during the last years of its rule