Suhail Shaheen, head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, told Sputnik on Monday that Kabul appreciates Russia's proposal to remove the Taliban from the terrorist list.

This comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared the Taliban movement is the real authority in Afghanistan and Moscow plans to remove it from the list of organizations banned in Russia.

"We welcome the proposal of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry to Kremlin to remove the status of a terrorist organization from IEA," Shaheen said, adding that the Taliban "appreciate Mr. Lavrov's statement and it also indicates, that Russia follows realpolitik and puts its national interests ahead."

The official further expressed the Taliban's desire to foster positive relations with the international community.

"We were never terrorists but were fighting for the liberation of our country from foreign occupation. This was our legitimate right... We want positive relations with neighboring, regional, and world countries. We are in a new era following the independence of Afghanistan, ripe for engagement in various fields," Shaheen said.

Read more: Afghanistan asks Russia for help in rebuilding country

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after the US-led military force withdrew from the country.

In the 20 years during which the NATO-led coalition invaded Afghanistan, the Southern-Central Asian country has suffered tremendous destruction at unprecedented levels, leaving it crippled by an excruciating economic crisis and sporadic terror attacks spearheaded by ISIS-K. 

The war-torn nation has sought to recover from the damage by forging alliances with global powers, including China and Russia.

Since then, trade between Russia and Afghanistan has markedly surged in recent years, rising from $170 million in 2022 to over $1 billion presently.

Read more: Russia to create job opportunities in Afghanistan, invest in projects