In an interview with the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, stated that the Taliban in Afghanistan are no longer considered an enemy by his country, reports Amu TV on May 16. He said, “I don’t mean to say that the Taliban are our number one friend, but obviously, they are not enemies. The Taliban openly say that they trust Russia as the former Soviet Union’s successor.” He further said, “The Taliban are former mujahideen who fought against the Soviet army and the former Afghan regime that was supported by the Soviet Union. Having fought against other foreign troops, they concluded that the Soviet Union not only waged war in Afghanistan but also built infrastructure. They acknowledge that the Soviet Union had no expansionist plans.” “Yes, the Soviet Union had specific worldviews which ran counter to Afghanistan’s traditional views. The Taliban consider that our actions were wrong but they credit the real contribution to Afghanistan’s modernization made by the Soviet Union,” he added.