Putin: Russia mulling excluding Taliban from list of extremist groups

Russia is moving towards excluding the Taliban from its list of extremist organisations, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, a day after high-level talks between Moscow and Afghanistan's new rulers.

Russia labelled the Taliban a "terrorist organisation" back in 2003 but welcomed the Taliban for talks in Moscow several times before it seized power in Afghanistan in August this year.

Earlier this week, Russia called for the mobilisation of international aid to support Afghanistan, as Moscow hosted the Taliban for an international conference.