- Russia takes steps to remove ban on Afghan Taliban.
- Afghan leaders interested in purchasing oil products.
- Invitation to attend the forum extended to the Taliban.
MOSCOW: Russia has invited Afghanistan's Taliban to its biggest annual economic forum as Moscow tries to remove a ban on the movement, a senior Russian diplomat said on Monday.
Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war, Russia has slowly been building ties with the Taliban, although the movement is still officially banned in Russia.
Russia's foreign and justice ministries have briefed President Vladimir Putin on the issue of lifting the ban, Zamir Kabulov, director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the state news agency. TASS.
Some questions remain, Kabulov said, although he said an invitation had been extended to the Taliban to attend the St. Petersburg international economic forum on June 5-8.
Afghan leaders, he said, were traditionally interested in purchasing petroleum products.
The St. Petersburg forum, which once hosted Western CEOs and investment bankers from London and New York, has changed significantly amid the Ukraine war, which has triggered the biggest crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
Western investors seeking a slice of Russia's vast resource wealth have been replaced by companies from China, India, Africa and the Middle East.
