Moscow formally recognises Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
According to a ministry representative, the Foreign Ministry confirmed this when asked to comment on reports about Russia's decision to recognise the country.
The Russian ambassador in Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on the recommendation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an effort to show Moscow's intent to develop ties.
'This is a decision that was taken in principle by the President of the Russian Federation at the suggestion of the Russian Foreign Minister. It demonstrates Russia's sincere desire to establish a comprehensive partnership with Afghanistan,' the diplomat said on Rossiya-1 television.
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko accepted credentials from Gul Hassan, Afghanistan's new ambassador to Russia. The ambassador arrived in Moscow on July 1.
On April 17, the Russian Supreme Court granted a plea from the Prosecutor General to suspend the ban on the Taliban's activities in the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the removal of the Taliban's status as a terrorist group opened the way to building a comprehensive partnership with Kabul in the interests of the Russian and Afghan peoples.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Power cut for a time to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Kyiv blames Russian strike
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo VIENNA (Reuters) -All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were down for several hours on Friday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said, but the station's management later said power had been restored. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, acknowledged that power had been restored after 3 1/2 hours. But he added in a statement on X that nuclear safety "remains extremely precarious in Ukraine." Ukraine's energy minister blamed Russian shelling for severing the last power line to the plant and its six reactors. The country's power distribution operator said its technicians had taken action to restore it. Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool, switched during the outage to running on diesel generators, the IAEA said. The organization has repeatedly warned of the risk of a catastrophic accident at Zaporizhzhia, which is located near the front line in the war in Ukraine. Its reactors are shut down, but the nuclear fuel inside them still needs to be cooled, which requires constant power. The plant's Russia-installed management issued a statement on Telegram saying the high-voltage line to the plant had been restored. The statement said there had been no disruptions to operations at the plant, no violations of security procedures and no rise in background radiation levels beyond normal levels. The IAEA had earlier said that the plant had lost all off-site power for the ninth time during the military conflict and for the first time since late 2023. "The ZNPP currently relies on power from its emergency diesel generators, underlining (the) extremely precarious nuclear safety situation," it said. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galuschenko wrote on Telegram that a Russian strike had cut off the plant. "The enemy struck the power line connecting the temporarily occupied (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant) with the integrated power system of Ukraine." Ukrenergo, the sole operator of high-voltage lines in Ukraine, said its specialists had brought it back into service. "Ukrenergo specialists have brought back into service the high-voltage line which supplies the temporarily occupied power station," it said on Telegram. Neither the IAEA nor the plant's Russian-installed management initially cited a cause for the cut-off. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia station in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side regularly accuses the other of firing or taking other actions that could trigger a nuclear accident. (Reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna and Ronald Popeski in WinnipegEditing by Peter Graff and Matthew Lewis)
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons, escalating Russian strikes
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed air defences in a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to "defend the sky" as Russian attacks escalate. He added in his account on Telegram that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader. Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes. A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's airstrikes and battlefield advances. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap. The conversation came a day after Trump said he had a disappointing call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war across the capital, hours after Trump's conversation with Putin on Thursday. Zelenskiy called the attack "deliberately massive and cynical." Trump spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, according to Spiegel magazine, citing government sources. The two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, including strengthening its air defences, as well as trade issues, Spiegel reported on Friday. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Tim Gardner and Max Hunder; Editing by Louise Heavens, Peter Graff and Sharon Singleton)
New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Malaysia: Ceasefire must not be tactical manouvre, urges permanent end to Gaza genocide
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has stressed that any pause in the ongoing conflict in Gaza "must not be misused as a tactical manoeuvre", and that "unimpeded humanitarian access is urgently needed to avert mass starvation", according a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Friday. Malaysia, the ministry said, "appreciates the latest effort to end the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza", in particular the 60-day ceasefire proposed by the United States and mediated by Egypt and Qatar, and "calls for it to lead to a permanent ceasefire". The ministry, widely known as Wisma Putra, said Malaysia reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the Zionist Israeli regime's atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank, including the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and the actions of Israeli settlers. "These constitute gross violations of international law," said Wisma Putra. The statement noted that Malaysia remained firmly committed to the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and statehood, with East Jerusalem as the capital, and calls for Palestine's full membership in the United Nations.
