House of Representatives passes bill to de-designate Afghan Taliban terrorist group

Foreign media said Russia's lower house of parliament has approved a bill that would allow the Taliban to lift its designation as a terrorist group that controls Afghanistan.

According to Reuters and others, the Russian House of Representatives passed the bill after deliberation on the 17th local time, which will take effect only after the Senate approval and signing by President Vladimir Putin.

The bill says that if there is evidence that a banned terrorist group has stopped related activities, the court can order it to stop designating a terrorist group at the request of the attorney general.

The move is interpreted as paving the way for the Taliban to be removed from the terrorist list and recognized as a legitimate government.

Putin signaled a possible normalization of relations in May, saying, "We need to build relations with the Taliban because they are in control of Afghanistan."

The Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, have yet to be recognized as a formal government by any country.

Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin and the leader of Russia's Muslim-area Chechen Republic, has also called for the removal of rebel Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who won Syria's civil war the previous day, from the terrorist group.