TASHKENT. May 28 (Interfax) - The Taliban movement (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) serves as the incumbent Afghan government, so relations with it must be based on reality, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"There are problems in Afghanistan, they are obvious, and everyone knows that well. Building relations with the incumbent government is a completely different question. They need to be built somehow. These people [the Taliban] are in control of the country; they are in control of the country's territory, and they serve as the incumbent government of Afghanistan. We must proceed from reality and build our relations accordingly," Putin said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Russia "remains in contact with many partners, including numerous partners in Central Asia. We take the opinion of each of our partners and friends into account. We will elaborate a stance together," Putin said.
He was commenting on the Taliban's possible exclusion from Russia's list of terrorist organizations.
"This is being discussed," Putin said. "I will make no comment right now, because relations with the Taliban and Afghanistan are on everyone's lips," he said.