The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on April 23 that “Representatives of the Afghan leadership were informed that, in support of the decision announced [April 17] by the Russian Supreme Court to suspend the ban on the activities of the Taliban movement, the Russian side has decided to raise the level of the Afghan diplomatic mission in Moscow to ambassador.” President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov met with leaders of the Afghan Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior on April 23 in Kabul, and informed them of the new status. They intend to appoint an ambassador very soon.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented to the media on the upgrade of diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, pointing out on April 24 that, “The new authorities in Kabul are a reality. We need to take this into account in order to carry out pragmatic, not ideologized policy.”
