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Russia on cusp of removing Taliban from its terrorist list, FSB chief says

Among such crimes was the spring attack on Crocus City Hall which was plotted with assistance from ISIS-K and the West-run Ukrainian special services, Alexander Bortnikov said

ASTANA, October 4. /TASS/. Work to remove the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) from the list of terrorist organizations is in the final stages in Russia, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov told a meeting of the Council of Heads of National Security Enforcement Agencies and Special Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) currently taking place in Astana.

"Russia is finalizing work to remove the Taliban movement from its list of organizations designated as terrorist. We can see that the Taliban is ready to fight the most dangerous wing of the Islamic State (IS), ISIS-K, which is still getting material support from the West which uses the terrorist group’s capacity to carry out subversive false-flag operations on our soil," the FSB chief stressed.

Among such crimes was the spring attack on Crocus City Hall which was plotted with assistance from ISIS-K and the West-run Ukrainian special services, Bortnikov said.

He called on his CIS counterparts to cooperate in exposing terrorist organizations, including communication channels between terrorist wings.

"As regards fighting against ISIS-K and other Afghanistan-based Jihadist groups, we find it useful to establish communication with the Talibs, on the one hand, and expose potential terrorist supporters across the Commonwealth, on the other hand," Bortnikov concluded.

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