Moscow moves to pull Taliban off terrorist list after Putin calls extremist group ‘a trusted ally’

Russia’s highest prosecutor has formally asked that the Taliban be removed from the nation’s terrorism list — just months after President Vladimir Putin called the Afghan extremist group “a trusted ally.”

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office submitted the stunning request to the Russian Supreme Court Monday, with the court acknowledging it had received the appeal to “suspend the ban on the activities of the Taliban movement.”

If passed, contact with the group would no longer be punishable as a crime, which Russian law currently stipulates.

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