MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Russia can understand the reason why Kyrgyzstan decided to remove the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) from its list of terrorist organizations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Kyrgyzstan is located very close to Afghanistan," he pointed out. "It’s important for neighbors to maintain relations with the actual authorities," Peskov added. "It’s a necessity because otherwise, it’s impossible to build any ties," the Kremlin spokesman explained. "We understand the situation," he concluded.

After Washington announced in the spring of 2021 that it would withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, Taliban members launched a large-scale operation to take control of the country. On August 15, they took Kabul without a fight. On September 7, the Taliban announced forming an interim government, the legitimacy of which has not yet been recognized by any country.

Russian diplomats have repeatedly said that Moscow could remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations. According to Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry earlier reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban could be removed from the list. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, said that the initiative to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations reflected objective reality.