Taliban movement has ‘good relations’ with both Russia & China, political spokesman for Afghanistan's de facto new rulers claims

Despite being declared by Russia as a terrorist organization, the Taliban has "good relations" with Moscow. That's according to its spokesman, who claimed on Tuesday that the movement also gets on well with its neighbor, China.

Speaking in an interview with Beirut-based TV channel Al-Mayadeen, Muhammad Naeem claimed that the Taliban also has a positive relationship with three of the country's other neighbors Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan.

"China is our neighbor, and we have good relations with it. The same applies to Russia," he said.

Naeem, who acts as the political spokesman for the group, claimed that, unlike Western nations, these regional powers are not concerned about the Taliban's rise to power.

On August 15, the Taliban announced that it had assumed control of Afghanistan, declaring that it had taken over the entire nation, including its major cities and border checkpoints. Since then, Moscow has approached the situation differently than most Western countries, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for the world to react based on the facts.

"The Taliban control virtually the entire country, including the capital," he said last week. "This is reality."

However, despite communicating with the group, Moscow has no intention of removing it from the list of terrorist organizations, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said on Monday.

On the day after the movement declared victory, Russia's ambassador in Kabul revealed that the Taliban had replaced Afghan soldiers guarding the embassy.

"Our embassy is already guarded by the Taliban. Today, there was a surrender: the Afghan National Security Forces soldiers who were guarding us left," Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov explained. "The Taliban reaffirmed once again that nobody would be allowed to touch a single hair on [the head of] Russian diplomats."

If you like this story, share it with a friend!