Russia may remove Taliban from terrorist list, Kremlin spokesman says: 'De facto authority in Afghanistan'

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The Russian government is considering removing the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Russian authorities were considering the decision in order to facilitate greater communication.

"This is a country that is next to us, and one way or another we communicate with them," Peskov told the press, according to Reuters.

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Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Getty Images)

The veteran Kremlin communications expert told journalists that because the Taliban maintains a firm grip on Afghanistan, they must be treated as legitimate for international dialogue.

"We need to resolve pressing issues, this also requires dialogue, so in this regard we communicate with them like practically everyone else – they are the de facto authority in Afghanistan," Peskov said, according to the report.

The "pressing issues" alluded to by Peskov most likely refer to a recent terror attack that killed over a hundred people in the national capital.

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A car of the Federal Security Service (FSB) is parked outside the Crocus City Hall concert hall, the scene of the gun attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow. An Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia suffered its worst terrorist attack in two decades last month when Tajik nationals reportedly opened fire at Moscow's Crocus City concert hall.

An Afghanistan-based affiliate of the terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 137 people and wounded 180 others. 

The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) is one of the few remaining branches of ISIS that is still an active international security threat.

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Taliban security personnel stand guard a market in the Baharak district of Badakhshan province. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan following the botched withdrawal of the U.S. military in 2021.

While both groups are Islamic in ideology and widely classified as terrorist groups, the Taliban and branches of ISIS have been in conflict for decades.

ISIS leaders seek to undermine and conquer the Taliban in service of a worldwide caliphate, while the Taliban's interests remain focused on the regional control of Afghanistan.