The Taliban, on Monday, claimed that Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian National Security Council, in a meeting with the Taliban's deputy prime minister, wants Afghanistan to return as an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The Taliban’s deputy prime minister for political affairs has also called for the group's "meaningful presence” in regional meetings even though the Taliban had not been invited to the regional SCO meeting.
After the Taliban's return to power, Afghanistan was excluded from membership in all regional and global organisations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which plays a key role in regional economic and security relations.
The secretary of Russia's National Security Council, headed a high-level Russian delegation and travelled to Kabul on Monday. He met with Taliban officials, including Abdul Kabir, the group's deputy prime minister for political affairs.
According to Abdul Kabir's office, Sergei Shoigu said during the meeting, "The Russian Federation wants Afghanistan to regain its seat as an observer member in the SCO."
In this meeting, the taliban deputy prime minister stated, "The Islamic Emirate, as a responsible system, wants a meaningful presence in regional formats and is ready to cooperate closely with the countries of the region."
He said that the Taliban considers Afghanistan's security, stability and economic growth to be linked to the security and prosperity of the region. "The Taliban will not allow Afghan soil to be used against any country," he added.
Russia is concerned about the threat posed by terrorist groups in Afghanistan to the security of Central Asian countries. Moscow believes that these groups, including ISIS, are tools of Western countries to create insecurity in Russia's backyard.
Although the visit of the secretary of the Russian Security Council and the former defense minister of this country is related to these concerns of Moscow, the Taliban tried in several statements to portray Shoigu's visit as normal and as part of Russia's efforts to improve relations with the group.
Afghanistan has been participating as a guest at SCO summits since 2004 and became an observer member of the SCO in 2012.
The SCO decision to grant an observer seat to Afghanistan was mainly due to the country's border with Central Asia and concerns about the threat of terrorism and the rise of ISIS.
None of the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have officially recognised the Taliban, and the Taliban's invitation to the meetings of the member states has been limited.
Iran, which holds the presidency of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), announced on Tuesday that the Taliban's foreign minister has not been invited to the organisation's upcoming meeting in Mashhad.
