Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's federal security services announced that the country is "completing the review" of removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups.

Bortnikov said that it would be better to reach out to the Taliban to fight ISIS-K and other jihadist groups based in Afghanistan.

This comes as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko announced about two weeks ago that the process of removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups "will not be fast”. "The removal of the Taliban from Russia's list of terrorist groups requires changes in the country's laws," he had said.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Russia's state-run news agency, Andrey Rudenko clarified that the process is not fast because it requires changes in the Russian law.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, announced in June 2024 that the proposal to remove the Taliban's name from the list of terrorist organisations in Russia has been communicated to Vladimir Putin for a final decision. He said that there are still issues related to the Taliban and that a decision will be made after these issues are resolved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also told reporters during a visit to Tashkent on May 29, 2024, that establishing relations with the Taliban is another question, but we must communicate with them somehow.

Putin also mentioned consultations with regional partners, including Central Asian countries, on relations with the Taliban, saying, "We take into account the views of each of our partners and friends and will coordinate on this issue."

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Friday (October 4) that Alexander Bortnikov spoke about Afghanistan and the Taliban at a meeting of the heads of the security and intelligence services of the CIS countries in Bishkek. At the meeting, he emphasised on the cooperation between the security agencies of the participating countries.

Referring to the recent terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus Hall, Alexander Bortnikov said that ISIS-K is a threat to Russia and the countries of the region. "It is known with certainty that the perpetrators of this terrorist attack were members of Khorasan Province and were purposefully operating among Tajik migrants in Russia via the internet while they were physically in Afghanistan," he added.