The details of the agreement, which was signed after the meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob, who is a former Taliban military commissioner and the son of the group’s founder Mullah Omar, are not disclosed.
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During the meeting with S. Shoigu, M. Yaqoob said that Moscow and Kabul have “expanded bilateral relations.” The head of the Russian Security Council, in turn, urged the West not to freeze Afghanistan’s assets and to finance the country’s reconstruction.
As noted by the portal “Važnyje istorii,” such agreements usually involve the exchange of weapons, licenses, military technologies, and joint development. However, according to orientalist Ruslan Suleymanov, this agreement is more of a “symbolic measure” and there are no real prerequisites for “serious military cooperation and [Russian] technology transfer to the Taliban.”
Will it be like with North Korea?
“There will definitely be no military alliance or military coalition like with North Korea,” he told “The Insider.” – Russia essentially has nothing to offer the Taliban. It is not a major trading partner. Kabul’s main economic partners today are China, Iran, and Pakistan. It’s good if Russia makes it into the top ten by trade turnover.”
R. Suleymanov said that Russia could send military specialists to Afghanistan or conduct “local exercises and briefings” in the country.
Shoigu himself said two weeks ago at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan that Russia finds unacceptable “the return of third-party military infrastructure to Afghan territory or the establishment of new military facilities in neighboring states.” He also urged Washington and its allies to “acknowledge full responsibility for the 20-year presence in Afghanistan.”
Removed from the terrorist list
Shoigu said that Moscow has established a “pragmatic dialogue” with the Taliban to “achieve regional security and economic development goals.”
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, overthrowing the US-backed government, reminds “The Moscow Times.” In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called this group “allies in the fight against terrorism.” In the summer of 2025, Moscow was the first to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, removed the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations, and accepted their ambassador in Moscow. Tajikistan, Turkey, and Canada consider the Taliban a terrorist organization.
