INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the West to lift sanctions on Taliban-led Afghanistan and take "responsibility" for
reconstruction efforts in the country, on Friday.However, Lavrov did not say whether Moscow would lift its own designation of the group as a
"terrorist organization.""We urge Western countries to recognize their responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan,
lift sanctions restrictions and return Kabul's expropriated assets," Lavrov said.The Taliban has been under Western sanctions for more than
two decades, measures initially imposed to restrict the financing of al-Qaeda and other organizations designated "terrorist" groups.Russia's
presidential envoy on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said he hoped a "final decision" on removing the group from Russia's "terrorist" blacklist
"will be announced in the very near future," state news agencies reported.The officials were speaking as Russia hosted an annual diplomatic
forum on Afghanistan, involving envoys from the Taliban and neighboring countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.Moscow has fostered
relations with the Taliban since they returned to power in 2021 following the U.S
withdrawal from the war-ravaged country.In the 1980s, the Soviet Union waged a decade-long war on the country, a conflict which saw the
Historians also see the war as contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union.Various Russian officials have called for Moscow to remove
the Taliban from a blacklist of "terrorist and extremist organizations," a move that could further boost cooperation.State news agencies
reported that the head of Russia's FSB security agency Alexander Bortnikov said Friday that he wanted to see "mutually beneficial"
cooperation with Afghanistan's special services.Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was in Moscow for the talks.Lavrov also
said Russia would not accept "third countries" putting military bases in Afghanistan or establishing new military facilities in neighboring
countries "under any pretext."Russia has a major military base in allied Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan.
