Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that work on the possible removal of the Islamic Emirate from Moscow’s terrorist list is based on the need for contact with Afghanistan.

Speaking to TASS she said some media has reacted “nervously to the fact that Russia maintains contacts with the Taliban (IEA) movement.”

“Apparently, those who write about these issues do not realize that the solution to such problems as the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime actually requires contacts. And it is in our interest to respond to changes pragmatically, in line with attitudes focused on national interests,” she said.

“Now the question, which is also of great interest to everyone, is when, how and in what form the decisions on the so-called delisting will be adopted or developed. This is interdepartmental work.

“It involves experts from different areas. But it is based on the basic principle of the need to solve the problems created or exacerbated by the Americans inside Afghanistan, and to which, of course, an answer must be given both inside Afghanistan and by the countries of the region, but also by all other countries of the world,” she said.

Moscow must build up relations with Islamic Emirate government – Vladimir Putin

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for Moscow to “build up” relations with the Islamic Emirate government.

Speaking to senior editors of foreign news agencies on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said: “We have always believed that we need to deal with reality. The Taliban are in power in Afghanistan… We have to build up relations with the Taliban government.”

Putin’s comments also followed those of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who also said last week that Moscow planned to take the Islamic Emirate off its list of banned terrorist organizations.

“They are the real power” in Afghanistan, Lavrov said.

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