Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia is removing the Taliban from the country’s list of prohibited terrorist organizations, according to state-run news outlet RIA Novosti. According to the special representative of the Russian president for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban can be removed from the list of prohibited organizations.

In deciding to exclude the Taliban from Russia’s list, Lavrov highlighted the power of the Taliban and said that the Taliban is not classified as a terrorist organization by the UN Security Council. Kabulov also said that excluding the Taliban from the list does not contravene UN Security Council resolutions.

The Taliban responded to the proposal by saying, “We have never been terrorists, but we fought to liberate our country from foreign occupation.”

Under Security Council Resolution 2615, restrictions still apply to assisting the Taliban, though some are reduced for purposes of humanitarian aid.

In addition to Russia, Kazakhstan also decided to exclude the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations.

A final decision from Russian President Vladimir Putin supporting the de-listing has yet to be released.