Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a ban on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, a group that was designated as a terrorist organization more than two decades ago.

Russia officially removed the Taliban from its list of designated terrorist organizations, a legal formality that follows years of pragmatic engagement with the Afghan militant group. While the Taliban has been banned in Russia since 2003,

Russia’s Supreme Court removed Afghanistan's militant Taliban rulers from its list of banned terrorist groups in a step toward recognizing the group that seized power in 2021 as international forces withdrew from the war-torn country.