Russia has officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Russian President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed the development, saying Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and conveyed the government’s decision that underscores “the importance of this decision.” Zhirnov called it “a historic step towards strengthening relations between the two countries.”

​​​​​​ The Afghanistan Foreign Ministry said: “With this step, bilateral relations between the two countries will further expand.”

Muttaqi expressed hope that it would lead to enhanced cooperation and "would also further strengthen cooperation between Afghanistan and Russia."

Zhirnov told state TV channel, Rossiya-1, that the decision was made by President Vladimir Putin at the suggestion of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"It demonstrates Russia's sincere desire to establish a full-fledged partnership with Afghanistan," he said.

Russia has taken the lead as the first country to formally recognize the Taliban administration.

No UN member state had recognized the interim Taliban administration in Kabul since its return to power in August 2021.

The war-torn country is facing an economic crisis, as the US has frozen $7 billion in Afghan foreign assets since withdrawing foreign troops almost four years ago.

Only a few nations, including China, have accepted an ambassador from the Taliban-led interim administration, while Beijing sent its envoy to Kabul in September 2023.

Earlier Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it received copies of the credentials of Afghanistan's newly-appointed ambassador, Gul Hassan Hassan.

"We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields," it said.