ST. PETERSBURG, June 6. /TASS/. Representatives from the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) are eagerly anticipating its exclusion from the list of terrorist organizations, Abdul Umari, acting minister of labor and social affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said in a special interview with TASS.

"We are eagerly awaiting this decision. We highly appreciate and welcome this intention. This is a step forward for Afghanistan," he said.

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with the heads of international news agencies organized by TASS, said that it is necessary to build relations with the Afghan leadership, formed by the Taliban movement.

Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, who also serves as director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department, earlier told TASS that the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry had reported to President Putin that the Taliban movement could be removed from the ban list. On May 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the initiative to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations "reflects an awareness of reality."

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme is "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.