Russia and the ruling Taliban movement in Afghanistan have signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation. The document was signed at a security forum near Moscow, but its content has not been officially disclosed.
Russia and the radical Islamist movement Taliban, which rules Afghanistan, have signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation, Russian media report, citing DW.
The document was signed during the International Security Forum held near Moscow. The parties do not disclose the details of the agreement.
As noted by DW, such agreements usually involve the transfer of weapons, licenses, military technologies, as well as possible joint developments. At the same time, Orientalist Ruslan Suleymanov, in a comment to The Insider, described the agreement between Moscow and Kabul as more of a symbolic step. In his opinion, there are currently no real prerequisites for large-scale military cooperation between Russia and the Taliban.
The agreement was signed after a meeting between Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu and Afghanistan's Defense Minister Mohammad Yakub — the son of the movement's founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and a former military commissioner of the Taliban. During the negotiations, Yakub stated that Moscow and Kabul have expanded bilateral relations.
In turn, Shoigu urged Western countries to unfreeze Afghan assets and finance the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the withdrawal of American troops from the country. Since then, Moscow has gradually strengthened contacts with the new leadership of Afghanistan.
In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the Taliban as "allies in the fight against terrorism," and in 2025, the Kremlin removed the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations and accepted the movement's ambassador in Moscow.
The signing of the agreement demonstrates further deepening of contacts between Russia and the Afghan authorities against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Moscow and the West and the Kremlin's attempts to expand its influence in Asia and the Middle East.
