KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday formally accepted the credentials of Gul Hassan Hasan, the Taliban-appointed ambassador to Moscow, granting him official diplomatic status months after Russia recognized the Taliban administration in Afghanistan.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Putin received credentials from 34 new ambassadors from countries around the world during an official ceremony at the Kremlin, with Hasan among them.
Speaking at the event, Putin said Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has gained “new momentum” following Russia’s recognition of the Taliban administration. He added that Russia seeks an Afghanistan that is “united, independent, peaceful, and free from war, terrorism, and drug trafficking.”
The Taliban appointed Hasan as their ambassador to Moscow in July last year, shortly after Russia removed the group from its list of terrorist organizations and formally recognized it as the ruling authority in Afghanistan.
Putin is the second world leader to accept credentials from a Taliban ambassador, following Chinese President Xi Jinping. China was the first country to formally accept a Taliban-appointed envoy and reciprocated by sending its own ambassador to Kabul.
Despite these developments, the Taliban remain largely unrecognized by the broader international community and the United Nations, which continue to voice concerns over the group’s exclusionary governance, restrictions on women and girls, human rights abuses, and alleged ties to terrorist networks.
During its first rule in the 1990s, the Taliban was recognized by only three countries: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
