SAEDNEWS: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a telephone conversation on Wednesday to emphasize enhancing trade between the two countries.
The two top diplomats underscored mutual interest in ramping up cooperation between Moscow and Kabul in the trade and economic sphere and in strengthening of regional security, the Russian Foreign Ministry said after the telephone conversation between the top diplomats of the countries, TASS reported.
"Having noted lasting traditions of friendship and good neighborliness between Russian and Afghan peoples, the parties emphasized mutual interest in building up cooperation between the two parties in trade-economic and humanitarian spheres and in the regional security strengthening sphere, including the fight against terrorism and drug business," the ministry noted.
On July 3, 2025, Russia accepted the credentials of the new Afghan ambassador to Moscow and became the first country to recognize the Taliban government.
Russia believes that the official recognition of Taliban in Afghanistan will accelerate the development of bilateral and constructive cooperation between the two countries in various fields, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk had said that his country is going to develop economic cooperation with Afghanistan and the trade turnover totaled $323 million as of the end of the last year, the report added.
