Moscow Pushes For Lifting Sanctions On Taliban-Led Afghanistan, U.S. Remains Cautious

Russia has urged the West to lift sanctions on Taliban-led Afghanistan and called for the inclusion of its government in discussions about the country's future in direct opposition to the U.S. position of keeping sanctions against the regime in place. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a session of the "Moscow Format" consultations on October 4 that it's necessary to engage with the Taliban administration despite its lack of formal recognition by Moscow. Despite the Taliban being unrecognized internationally, the Taliban administration's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi participated in the forum, highlighting Russia's ongoing engagement with the Taliban. The U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Karen Decker, said a day earlier that Washington remained opposed to easing sanctions or recognizing the Taliban, stressing that progress on human rights, particularly women's rights, was necessary before any steps toward legitimacy or economic engagement could occur.