Afghanistan’s Taliban is invited by Russia to a significant economic summit.

As part of its efforts to lift the prohibition on the movement, Russia has extended an invitation to the Taliban in Afghanistan to attend its largest yearly business conference, a senior Russian official was cited as saying on Monday.

Although the Taliban is still officially banned in Russia, relations between the two groups have been gradually improving since the Taliban took control in August 2021 after US-led forces left the country after 20 years of conflict.

President Vladimir Putin has received reports from Russia’s justice and foreign ministries regarding the matter of lifting the ban, according to Zamir Kabulov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department, who spoke with state news agency .