Lavrov says no obstacles remain to expanding Russia-Afghanistan cooperation
In short
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki that no obstacles remain to expanding cooperation between the two countries, including past sanctions barriers. He pointed to continued military-technical ties and said Afghan successes in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism are largely linked to them, according to Interfax and Vedomosti. Vedomosti reported Lavrov also cited 170 new enterprises in Afghanistan, a doubling of export value and the start of work on the Afghan section of the TAPI gas pipeline.
Read the full story 2 min read
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 5 October that no obstacles remain to expanding cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan, speaking at talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki. According to Interfax and Vedomosti, Lavrov said there are “no obstacles in the form of past sanctions barriers” to broadening interaction in “all areas without exception” — economic, scientific-technical and humanitarian cooperation and the strengthening of law enforcement bodies. [ 2 , 3 ]
Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying that Afghanistan's successes in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism are “to a significant extent” connected to continuing military-technical cooperation between the two countries, a point he attributed to Afghan colleagues. Vedomosti reported that Lavrov said military-technical cooperation continues, and that he praised Kabul's direct participation in the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, calling that venue one of the most effective for discussing the problems of the country and the surrounding region. [ 2 , 3 ]
Vedomosti reported that Lavrov congratulated Mottaki on the five-year anniversary of Afghanistan's liberation from the withdrawal of the NATO contingent. “Five years is a short period to overcome the consequences of many decades of occupation, but the successes of your government are evident, and we welcome this,” Lavrov said, according to the newspaper. He also noted the Afghan authorities' results in fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, saying that 170 new enterprises had opened in the country in recent years and that export value had doubled, and he pointed to the start of construction of the Afghan section of the TAPI gas pipeline. [ 2 ]
Vedomosti placed the talks in the context of earlier steps: it reported that Russia's Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Taliban movement in April 2024 and that Moscow officially recognised the Taliban government in July 2025. It also reported that on 15 May Afghanistan's minister of trade and industry, Nuriddin Azizi, said Afghanistan was exploring the possibility of sending labour migrants to Russia, and that on 27 May Moscow and Kabul signed a military-technical cooperation agreement at an international security forum in Russia. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The remarks follow Moscow's 2025 recognition of the Taliban government and signal continued Russian engagement with Kabul across economic, humanitarian and security areas. The documents indicate cooperation is being framed around existing military-technical ties and regional forums, though they give no detail on new commitments or agreements.
Key facts
- Lavrov said there are no obstacles, including past sanctions barriers, to expanding Russian-Afghan interaction in economic, scientific-technical and humanitarian cooperation and in strengthening law enforcement bodies [ 2 , 3 ]
- Lavrov made the remarks at talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki [ 2 , 3 ]
- Lavrov said Afghanistan's successes in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism are to a significant extent linked to continuing military-technical cooperation with Russia, citing Afghan colleagues [ 2 , 3 ]
- Lavrov praised Kabul's direct participation in the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan and called the venue one of the most effective for discussing the country's and the region's problems [ 2 ]
- Lavrov congratulated Mottaki on the five-year anniversary of Afghanistan's liberation from the withdrawal of the NATO contingent [ 2 ]
- Lavrov said 170 new enterprises had opened in Afghanistan in recent years, export value had doubled, and construction of the Afghan section of the TAPI gas pipeline had begun [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that Russia's Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Taliban in April 2024 and that Moscow officially recognised the Taliban government in July 2025 [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that a Russia-Afghanistan military-technical cooperation agreement was signed at an international security forum in Russia on 27 May [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Lavrov stated that no obstacles remain to expanding cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan, including past sanctions barriers [ 2 , 3 ]
- Military-technical cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan continues, and Lavrov linked Afghan counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism results to it [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Where the talks between Lavrov and Mottaki took place The documents do not explicitly state the venue; one report carries a Moscow dateline but does not describe the meeting location
- Details of the 27 May Russia-Afghanistan military-technical cooperation agreement and of the 15 May discussion of Afghan labour migrants to Russia Both are reported only by Vedomosti, whose text is truncated, and are not corroborated by other documents
- What concrete commitments, if any, resulted from the talks The documents report statements about existing cooperation and the absence of obstacles, but mention no new agreements or figures agreed at the meeting
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- RIA Novosti publishes its report that Lavrov noted no obstacles to cooperation with Afghanistan [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti publishes its account of the Lavrov-Mottaki meeting, including economic figures and background on Russia's Taliban policy [ 2 ]
- Interfax publishes its report quoting Lavrov on sanctions barriers and military-technical cooperation [ 3 ]