Overview
- Russian officials ratified a military cooperation agreement with the Taliban in Moscow, a move that follows years of growing engagement and formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.
- Moscow has publicly warned about ISIS‑K and other extremist networks in Afghanistan while Taliban spokesmen denied those threats and said ISIS had been eliminated, creating a stark credibility gap over security claims.
- Analysts say the pact appears to focus on repairing and supplying Soviet and Russian‑made equipment and on security cooperation rather than on sending Taliban fighters overseas, and there is no current evidence of troop deployments to Ukraine.
- Pakistan and other neighbouring states have demanded verifiable action against militant sanctuaries and warned that strengthening the Taliban's military capacity without such proof could worsen cross‑border violence and instability.
- Russian officials used the forum to press for wider goals such as the unfreezing of Afghan assets and longer‑term influence in Afghanistan, a development that could reshape regional ties and reduce Western leverage if the Taliban curb or fail to curb militant groups.