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MOSCOW/KABUL | Planet & Commerce 

In a dramatic shift that may reshape regional diplomacy and global power alignments, Russia has formally recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan, becoming the first country to do so since the Islamist group seized control of Kabul in August 2021.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that it has accepted the credentials of Gul Hassan Hassan, the Taliban’s newly appointed ambassador to Moscow, effectively acknowledging the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

“The act of official recognition will encourage the development of productive bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement, highlighting trade, energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure as key sectors for engagement.

Photos released by Russia showed Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko receiving credentials from the Afghan envoy. Meanwhile, Taliban officials in Kabul celebrated the recognition as a diplomatic breakthrough.

Russia’s decision is historically significant and geopolitically complex. The Soviet Union, which included modern-day Russia, fought a nine-year war in Afghanistan (1979–1989) that ended in humiliating retreat and left lasting scars. Many of the fighters who defeated the Soviets later became part of the Taliban’s ideological and militant base.

Despite that history, Russia chose to maintain its diplomatic mission in Kabul even after the 2021 Taliban takeover, unlike most Western nations which closed their embassies and imposed sanctions. In April 2025, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, paving the way for formal recognition.

In recent years, Russia and the Taliban have deepened their ties, with Moscow hosting Taliban representatives as early as 2018. By 2022, Russia signed its first international economic agreement with the Taliban to supply oil, gas, and wheat to Afghanistan.

“This is a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement,” said Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, calling the Russian decision “courageous.”

The announcement has been met with swift criticism from human rights groups, Afghan opposition figures, and global women’s rights advocates.

Fawzia Koofi, a former Afghan lawmaker and women’s rights activist, warned:

“Normalizing relations with the Taliban legitimizes impunity. It risks not just the Afghan people but global security.”

The Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network called Russia’s move “a legitimization of a regime that is authoritarian, anti-women, and dismantling civil rights.”

Since 2021, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women and girls, including banning education for girls over 12, barring women from most jobs, restricting their travel without male accompaniment, and even limiting their public speech.

“The Taliban claims to respect women’s rights under Islamic law, but its actions speak otherwise,” the network stated, adding that Russia’s support continued a legacy of destructive foreign interference, referencing Moscow’s role in the 1979 invasion.

While Russia is the first country to formally recognize the Taliban, others have taken steps toward engagement. China and the UAE have exchanged ambassadors with Kabul but have not offered diplomatic recognition.

Despite sanctions and frozen international assets—nearly $9 billion blocked by the UN in 2021—the Taliban has maintained trade ties. In 2023, a Chinese oil company signed an extraction deal with the group, signaling growing economic cooperation even without political recognition.

The Taliban has also increased its diplomatic overtures toward the United States, particularly since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in early 2025.

In March 2025, the Taliban released two American prisoners, followed by the lifting of U.S. bounties on three senior Taliban officials. According to diplomatic insiders, the Taliban proposed establishing an embassy-like office in the U.S. to manage Afghan affairs.

“Do this, and it could open the door to better relations,” a U.S. official reportedly told Taliban leaders during the negotiations.

While formal U.S. recognition remains elusive, Russia’s move could pressure other nations to reassess their positions, particularly if major economic partnerships begin to emerge.

Former Afghan National Security Adviser Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta labeled Russia’s move as “regrettable” and warned:

“This is just the beginning; in the absence of widespread resistance, others will follow Russia.”

Experts argue that Russia’s recognition—framed as a pragmatic geopolitical decision—may trigger a domino effect in global diplomacy. But they also warn of moral and security risks.

“Recognition without accountability empowers regimes that violate basic rights,” noted a UN rights observer, who highlighted the Taliban’s treatment of women as tantamount to gender apartheid.

Nonetheless, for the Taliban, Moscow’s acceptance of their ambassador is a major political win, affirming their rule and expanding their global legitimacy, even as human rights concerns persist.

PLANET & COMMERCE 

A rare interstellar object is hurtling through our solar system at breathtaking speeds, and astronomers around the globe are scrambling to study it. Now officially designated 3I/ATLAS, the object is only the third known celestial body from beyond our solar system to be detected passing through this cosmic neighborhood.

The discovery, made on Tuesday by NASA’s ATLAS telescope in Chile (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), immediately triggered international scientific interest. Since its detection, researchers have traced the comet’s trajectory in telescope archives back to June 14, confirming it is not gravitationally bound to the Sun and has likely traveled for millions of years through deep interstellar space.

“This object’s speed and path are the giveaways,” said Dr. Gianluca Masi, astrophysicist and director of the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy. “It’s clearly not from around here.”

Traveling at nearly 37 miles per second (133,200 miles per hour or 214,364 km/h), 3I/ATLAS is far too fast to be native to our solar system. Its nearly linear trajectory, unlike the elliptical orbits of planets and comets around the Sun, strongly suggests that it originated outside our solar neighborhood.

“When we trace its path backward, it clearly comes from another star system,” explained Dr. Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

Currently located approximately 420 million miles (675 million kilometers) from Earth, the comet was first observed approaching from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation, a region near the galactic center of the Milky Way.

Within hours of its discovery, astronomers across the globe mobilized telescopes to capture data on 3I/ATLAS. Observers at the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona, led by Dr. Teddy Kareta, were among the first to act.

“Almost every planetary astronomer I know immediately requested telescope time,” Kareta said. “Early observations are crucial to understand how it behaves and evolves.”

Astronomers anticipate that most major Earth-based and space telescopes will train their lenses on the comet in the coming weeks to capture critical insights before it disappears behind the Sun later this year.

3I/ATLAS joins an elite club of interstellar objects — only two others have ever been observed:

• ‘Oumuamua in 2017, a cigar-shaped, fast-moving object that sparked alien probe theories due to its unusual acceleration
   
• 2I/Borisov in 2019, the first confirmed interstellar comet
   

While little is yet known about 3I/ATLAS, preliminary estimates suggest it may be around 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter, though that remains uncertain. What is known is that it is brighter and faster than its two predecessors, making it an ideal candidate for intensive observation.

It is already showing cometary activity, such as outgassing and the formation of a dust tail, indicating that it is shedding mass — behavior consistent with icy bodies heating as they approach a star. However, scientists still do not know what material is being ejected or what triggers the outgassing.

“We’re eager to find out whether this comet behaves like the ones from our solar system or surprises us,” Kareta noted.
 

According to NASA, the comet poses no threat to Earth. It will remain at least 150 million miles (240 million kilometers) away. Here are key dates in its journey:

• October 2: Close flyby of Mars at just 18 million miles (30 million kilometers)
   
• October 30: Closest approach to the Sun at 130 million miles (210 million kilometers)
   
• December 19: Nearest approach to Earth, coming within 167 million miles (270 million kilometers)
   

Astronomers say the comet is currently visible in the Sagittarius constellation — best seen from the southern hemisphere around midnight. Though the July 10 full moon may interfere with visibility, viewing conditions should improve in coming months.

The comet will remain visible through September, then briefly disappear behind the Sun before re-emerging in December. Observations are expected to continue into mid-2026.

Studying interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS provides rare insight into other planetary systems. These bodies are likely remnants of planet formation processes around distant stars, ejected by gravitational interactions and eventually passing through our solar system.

“They’re messengers from other solar systems,” Kareta said. “We want to learn everything we can from them.”
 

Astronomers are particularly eager to see whether the chemistry and behavior of 3I/ATLAS align with that of comets in our solar system — or reveal alien characteristics that challenge our understanding of how celestial bodies form across the galaxy.

As Kareta put it:

“They are some of the most fascinating things we’ve discovered — and they might help us answer big questions about the universe.”