The Taliban are reaching out — and some countries are responding

Islamabad, Pakistan — Four years into its second stretch in power, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has been recognized by only one country: Russia.

But anti-immigrant sentiment, concerns about militant groups in Central Asia and a growing acceptance that the regime is unlikely to collapse anytime soon are allowing the Taliban to quietly make diplomatic inroads.

Many of Afghanistan’s neighbors, while not officially recognizing the regime, have found ways to work with it. White House counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka described the regime last month as “moderately cooperative,” even as he acknowledged that “this sounds strange coming out of my mouth.” And Germany, home to Europe’s largest Afghan population, has accredited two Taliban Foreign Ministry officials to join representati