On May 14th, Russia announced that it will be establishing a “full-fledged partnership” with the Taliban, the Islamist extremist militant group that is serving as the de facto government of Afghanistan. Russian officials such as Sergei Shoigu, who serves as Secretary of the Russian Security Council, are encouraging other actors in the region to follow suit in expanding cooperation with the extremist group. Shoigu expressed that a “pragmatic” approach to