ISLAMABAD, Aug. 17 Under the Taliban (the Taliban movement* is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities), Afghanistan's relations with Russia have improved significantly compared to the previous leadership of the country, said the head of the movement's politburo in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, on the third anniversary of the Taliban's rise to power.
Three years ago, in August 2021, the Taliban stepped up their offensive against Afghan government forces and entered Kabul on August 15. On the night of August 31, the US military left the Kabul airport, ending nearly 20 years of US military presence in the country. In early September of that year, the Taliban* formed a new government in Afghanistan.
«We want to improve relations with Russia, and now relations between Afghanistan and Russia are the best, if we compare them with the time of occupation, because, as you know, the policy of the occupiers at that time was that the government of Afghanistan should not have good relations with Russia, because it was a pro-American government,» Shahin said.
The agency's interlocutor emphasized that under the previous leadership of the country it was impossible to imagine good relations with Russia. He added that the current authorities in Kabul want to develop cooperation with Russia in various areas, and noted that the foreign policy of the previous leadership of the country did not meet the national interests of the Afghan people, but was a kind of tool for realizing the interests of the Western coalition.
«All the relations that we want are based on the demands of our people, whereas (under the previous authorities — ed.) these were not the relations that our people wanted, but those that the occupiers wanted… We want good relations with all neighboring countries. We have trade relations and good relations with them,» Shahin said.
* The Taliban movement is an organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.