Afghanistan: Saudi Arabia Reopens Its Embassy in Kabul

Russia and a number of other countries around the world consider the Taliban to be “a real force in Afghanistan.” According to deputies of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Taliban movement should be removed from the black list of international terrorist organizations as soon as possible.

To regain “full room for maneuver” and develop relations with the Taliban, a group of State Duma deputies has introduced a bill that would allow a court-ordered suspension of the ban on organizations, including foreign and international ones, designated as terrorists.

Many other countries, especially in the Arab world, are moving in the same direction: the Saudi embassy in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has resumed its normal diplomatic activities more than three years after the kingdom withdrew its diplomatic staff following the flight of the US military and the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Riyadh said in a press release: “Based on the desire of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government to render all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the Kingdom’s mission in Kabul starting December 22.”

The Taliban government’s foreign ministry welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume diplomatic operations in Kabul. “We are optimistic about the possibility of strengthening relations and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan through the resumption of these activities,” Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad said.

The former Soviet republics of Central Asia are also trying to normalize political, economic, and social relations with neighboring Afghanistan. Even earlier than Russia, Kazakhstan decided to “remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations,” saying the terrorist organization status hinders normal cooperation between the two countries. Russia and Kazakhstan emphasized that all real power in Afghanistan belongs to the Taliban. On July 4, 2024, in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) said that “the Taliban are without a doubt Moscow’s allies in the fight against terrorism.”

Earlier, Secretary of the Russian Security Council and former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during an official visit to Kabul that “Russia intends to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations” and also intends to “strengthen bilateral political and economic ties with Afghanistan.”