Russia has become the first country to formally recognise the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021. It’s not only that, Moscow has also removed the group from its list of outlawed organisations. So politically speaking, what has changed between these two countries and what informs Russia’s change of heart, and what exactly does this recognition mean for Taliban?

GUEST: Naeem Jeena, Senior Researcher at Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)