Russia was already deemed eligible for special treatment.
In the long arc of great power competition, Russia has taken a deliberate step that few others were willing to take — formally embracing the Taliban as a legitimate governing force and now binding that recognition in a military pact. At an international security forum, Sergei Shoigu and Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob signed a cooperation agreement whose details remain undisclosed but whose meaning is clear: Moscow is staking its claim in Central Asia by treating the post-American order in Afghanistan not as a problem to be managed from a distance, but as an opportunity to be seized. It is a move that breaks Western diplomatic norms, and that is precisely the point.
- Russia and the Taliban have signed a formal military cooperation pact — the first of its kind between a major power and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — with neither side revealing its specific terms.
- The agreement deepens an alignment that has been building since 2021, when Russian diplomats were among the first to engage Taliban leaders as they retook Kabul, and accelerated when Moscow formally recognized the Taliban government in 2024.
- Western nations remain frozen in non-recognition, their Afghan assets still blocked, while Russia positions itself as the pragmatic actor willing to engage — and publicly calls on the West to unfreeze those assets and accept responsibility for its 20-year presence.
- The pact's opacity — no disclosed weapons transfers, training arrangements, or duration — leaves regional neighbors and Western analysts uncertain about what military entanglement Moscow is actually committing to.
- Russia is now actively encouraging other regional states to follow its lead, signaling that this is not an isolated bilateral move but the opening of a broader geopolitical realignment in Central Asia.
On a Wednesday at a Russian security forum, Sergei Shoigu and Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob signed a military cooperation pact — a document whose terms remain undisclosed but whose symbolic weight is hard to overstate. Yaqoob, son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, spoke of deepening historical ties and expanding bilateral relations. The Taliban announced the meeting on social media.
The agreement is the culmination of a strategic realignment that began the moment the Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021. Russia moved faster than any other major power — its embassy was among the first to receive security guarantees from the new rulers, and Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov became the first foreign diplomat to meet with them. For years, Russia had listed the Taliban as a terrorist organization, but by 2024 Putin was calling them allies, and Russia became the first country in the world to formally recognize the Islamic Emirate. No other major power has followed.
Analysts like Nikita Smagin of the Carnegie Endowment describe the recognition as largely symbolic — less about economic gain from a fractured, sanctioned economy than about restoring Russia's image as a power willing to break established norms and hold the initiative. At the forum, Shoigu called on Western nations to unfreeze Afghan assets and accept responsibility for their two decades in the country — a rhetorical positioning of Moscow as the pragmatic, engaged actor while the West maintains its diplomatic freeze.
The military pact's specifics — what weapons, training, or timeline it involves — remain opaque. But a senior Russian security official has described a 'full-fledged partnership' and said Moscow is encouraging regional neighbors to follow suit. Russia has moved from the margins of Afghan politics to its center, securing a foothold in a region where it once had little leverage, and it has done so by being the first major power willing to treat the Taliban not as a pariah, but as a government.
On a Wednesday at an international security forum in Russia, two officials sat down to formalize what Moscow had been quietly building for years: a military partnership with Afghanistan's Taliban government. Sergei Shoigu, Russia's Security Council Secretary, met with Mohammad Yaqoob, the Taliban's Defense Minister, and they signed a military cooperation pact—a document whose full terms neither side has yet disclosed, but whose symbolic weight is unmistakable. The Taliban announced the meeting on social media. Yaqoob, who served as the Taliban's military commander before the group retook power and who is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, spoke of deepening historical ties. "Afghanistan and Russia have long and historical relations," he said at the forum. "In this direction, we want to move further. We have expanded bilateral relations."
This agreement represents the culmination of a strategic realignment that began the moment the Taliban swept back into Kabul in August 2021, after the collapse of the U.S.-backed government. Russia had moved fast then—faster than any other major power. When Taliban fighters entered the capital, the Russian embassy was among the first diplomatic missions to receive security guarantees from the new rulers. Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov became the first foreign diplomat to meet with them. It was a calculated move, a signal that Moscow understood which way the wind was blowing.
For years, Russia had listed the Taliban as a terrorist organization. But in 2021, President Vladimir Putin began suggesting that classification might change. By 2024, Putin was calling the Taliban "allies in the fight against terrorism," and Russia became the first country in the world to formally recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. No other major power has followed. The move was less about trade or economic benefit—Afghanistan's economy is fractured and sanctioned—and more about positioning. As Nikita Smagin, an expert on Russian Middle East policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explained it, recognition was "more of a symbolic gesture" designed to restore Russia's image as a power willing to break established norms and set precedents. "Moscow needs to take steps that will restore its image as an influential power that holds the initiative," Smagin said, "and recognition of the Taliban regime serves precisely that purpose."
The timing matters. The United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, leaving a vacuum in Central Asia that Russia has been methodically filling. Moscow faces genuine security threats from various Islamist militant groups operating across the region, and the Taliban, whatever its history, now controls the territory where some of those groups operate. Shoigu used the forum to call on Western countries to unfreeze Afghan assets that have been frozen since the Taliban takeover. "We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognize their responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and bear the burden of the country's post-conflict reconstruction," he said. It was a rhetorical move—positioning Russia as the pragmatic actor willing to engage while the West maintains its freeze.
The military pact itself remains opaque. Neither Russia nor Afghanistan has released specifics about what the agreement entails, what weapons or training might be involved, or how long it lasts. But Shoigu has spoken of building a "pragmatic dialogue" that encompasses security, trade, culture, and humanitarian support. A senior Russian security official told Reuters that Moscow has established a "full-fledged partnership" with the Taliban and is actively encouraging other regional countries to do the same. What's clear is that Russia has moved from the margins of Afghan politics to the center, and it did so by being the first major power willing to treat the Taliban not as a pariah but as a legitimate government. Whether that calculation proves wise—whether a Taliban government proves stable, whether the security threats Moscow fears actually diminish, whether other powers eventually follow Russia's lead—remains to be seen. For now, Moscow has secured a foothold in a region where it once had little leverage, and it has done so by breaking the very diplomatic rules that have governed the international system.
Notable Quotes
Afghanistan and Russia have long and historical relations. In this direction, we want to move further. We have expanded bilateral relations.— Mohammad Yaqoob, Taliban Defense Minister
Moscow needs to take steps that will restore its image as an influential power that holds the initiative, and recognition of the Taliban regime serves precisely that purpose.— Nikita Smagin, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Russia want to align itself with the Taliban, given the group's history and its designation as a terrorist organization?
Russia faces real security threats from militant groups operating in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The Taliban now controls the territory where some of those groups operate. From Moscow's perspective, engaging with the Taliban directly—rather than maintaining a frozen stance—is pragmatic. It's also a way to reassert influence in a region where the U.S. just withdrew.
But doesn't Russia's recognition of the Taliban undermine its credibility on terrorism?
It does in the eyes of Western governments. But Russia isn't playing to a Western audience here. It's playing to regional actors and to its own domestic narrative about being a power that acts independently and sets its own terms. Smagin's point is key: this is about image restoration and showing that Russia won't be bound by Western diplomatic norms.
What does the military pact actually do? What's in it?
Nobody knows yet. Neither side has released the details. That opacity is itself significant—it suggests the agreement might be sensitive, or it might simply be that both sides want to control the narrative. But Shoigu has mentioned security, trade, culture, and humanitarian support as part of the broader partnership.
Is this a sign that other countries will recognize the Taliban?
Russia is actively encouraging other regional countries to expand ties with Kabul. But so far, no other major power has followed Russia's lead on formal recognition. That could change, or it could be that Russia's willingness to break ranks actually isolates it further from the West while not necessarily opening doors elsewhere.
What does this mean for Afghanistan itself?
It means the Taliban has secured a powerful patron and some legitimacy on the world stage. It also means Afghanistan is being drawn into Russia's regional strategy, which may or may not serve Afghan interests. The country remains economically devastated and isolated by Western sanctions.