Russia Signs Military Cooperation Deal With Afghanistan’s Taliban Government
Kansas Fed Pres Warns Oil Price Shock Might Not Be Transitory RFE/RL journalists report the news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established.
We provide what many… Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have signed a military agreement, in a move that signals deepening cooperation between the sides, experts said.
The deal was signed on May 27 by Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and the Taliban’s defense minister, Mohammad Yaqub, on the sidelines of a security forum outside of Moscow, Russian mediareported.
Neither side has released the text of the military cooperation agreement or offered details about its scope, making it difficult to gauge whether the deal represents a substantive shift in military cooperation or a symbolic political gesture, experts said.
Military-technical cooperation agreements can cover a wide range of activities, including arms sales, training, maintenance, logistics support, or technical assistance.
Experts said Russia’s ability and willingness to deepen defense cooperation with the Taliban is constrained by Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the crippling impact of Western sanctions on the Kremlin’s coffers.
“Russia is too economically stretched to provide free military aid to the Taliban government,” said Hameed Hakimi, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.
“Meanwhile, the Taliban government does not have deep coffers to purchase such a quantity of military equipment, which would make it a consequential military trading partner in Moscow's eyes,” added Hakimi, who is also a senior research associate at ODI Global, a London-based think tank.
Any cooperation is more likely to focus on maintenance, coordination, or training rather than major arms deliveries, experts said.
Russian analyst Ruslan SuleymanovtoldThe Insider, a Russia-focused, independent media outlet based in Latvia, that the deal is a political signal rather than a sign of imminent military support.
Russia is the only country that has formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
It did so in 2025, four years after the group returned to power following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
Comments
Post a Comment