A former senior Taliban official told CBS News that while the move was welcome, "Russia and China can't financially support us the way the Americans did."

Russia said on Thursday it had accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan, making it the first nation to recognise the Taliban government of the country.

Russia has become the first country to formally recognize the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry announced on X Thursday that the Russian Foreign Ministry has decided to recognize the Taliban after a meeting between Russian ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov and IEA-Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi.