Story perspectives

Russia, Taliban Sign Military-Technical Pact in Moscow

5/28/2026

Summary

Russia-Taliban Pact

Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban signed a military-technical cooperation agreement in Moscow on May 27 2026.
Analysts expect arms exchanges, licensing, technology transfers and joint projects under the pact.
Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob called the pact important and said relations have expanded.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu urged Western nations to unfreeze Afghan assets.

Summary

Russia Opens Kabul

Russia opened its first business office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover.
Afghan women’s rights activists condemned the office as legitimizing a regime that bans girls’ education.
Former MP Mariam Solaimankhil and ex-MP Fawzia Koofi warned the office could prioritize strategic interests over human-rights obligations and legitimize impunity, endangering global security.
Russia discussed turning Afghanistan into a gas-transit hub for Southeast Asia while senior Taliban figures remain under UN sanctions.

History

Historical Context

After the Soviet Union sent roughly 115,000 troops into Afghanistan on 24 December 1979, the ensuing ten-year war provoked UN condemnation, a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the abandonment of SALT II. The conflict’s legacy of super-power rivalry frames Russia’s 2026 Moscow-Kabul military-technical pact signed by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Taliban leader Mohammad Yaqoob.

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Russia-Taliban Pact

Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban signed a military-technical cooperation agreement in Moscow on May 27 2026.
Analysts expect arms exchanges, licensing, technology transfers and joint projects under the pact.
Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob called the pact important and said relations have expanded.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu urged Western nations to unfreeze Afghan assets.

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