MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. The SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group has suspended its work, though the situation in the country remains under the organization’s attention, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Nurlan Yermekbayev said in an interview with TASS.

"The situation in Afghanistan is constantly under close SCO member states’ scrutiny. The states are studying the situation in Afghanistan, recognizing that Afghanistan influences the situation in the entire region, and many SCO member states border Afghanistan. Previously, we had an active SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. Although this group has suspended its work, Afghanistan remains in the focus of our organization’s attention," he said.

In April 2021, then-US President Joe Biden announced a decision to end the country’s military operation in Afghanistan, the longest foreign military campaign in the history of the United States. After the US announced that it was withdrawing from the country, the Taliban movement embarked on a large-scale operation to take control of Afghanistan. On August 15, 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country, while Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance.

In the summer of 2025, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow had recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and the country’s ambassador arrived in Moscow on July 1.