Russian lawmakers approve a bill that could remove the terrorist designation for the Taliban

MOSCOW (AP) — The lower house of Russia’s parliament has approved a bill that would set the stage for Moscow to remove the designation of the Taliban in Afghanistan as a terrorist group. Under the bill, the official terrorist designation of an organization could be suspended by a court. The legislation still needs to be approved by the upper house and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. The Taliban were put on Russia’s list of terrorist organizations in 2003, and any contact with such groups is punishable under Russian law. At the same time, Taliban delegations attended various forums hosted by Moscow.