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Mehmet Akif Koç / @m_akifkoc
Took possession of Kabul in September 1996 and toppled by the US-led counter-terrorism operation following the 9/11 attacks, Taliban once again seized the power in the Afghan capital. Taking the advantage of the US withdrawal in mid-summer of 2021, conquering the strategic populous centers in a few days, the Taliban movement took down the NATO and the US-backed central government and began to control the entire country after a two-decade break.
The military progress of the movement, contrary to its first seizure in 1996, was accompanied by a comprehensive political and diplomatic initiative. In the aftermath of the US and Pakistani strikes resulted in the death of key Taliban political and military leaders; a new political process started in late 2016 with the participation of regional and global actors leading to unofficial recognition and legitimization of the Taliban. As a result of this diplomatic path, the US withdrawal and Taliban’s seizure of power has been de-facto “welcomed” by the international community.
This paper aims at analyzing Russia’s controversial relations with the Taliban movement during the last twenty-five years; briefly focusing on the background of their ties in the first part, then elaborates the possible scenarios from the perspective of the Kremlin’s interests and Russian foreign and security policy.
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