Taliban warn US against ‘destabilizing’ Afghan government
The Taliban have warned the United States against destabilizing the government in Afghanistan, as the two sides held their first face-to-face meeting since the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
The Taliban foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said on Saturday that Taliban authorities told US representatives in Doha that any attempt to “weaken the existing government in Afghanistan … can lead to problems for the people.”
“We clearly told them that trying to destabilize the government in Afghanistan is good for no one,” Muttaqi said, adding, “Good relations with Afghanistan are good for everyone.”
The foreign minister made the remarks on the first of two days of talks with a US team in Qatar’s capital.
The Taliban foreign minister said the Afghan delegation and US counterparts discussed “opening a new page” between the two countries.
The Taliban representatives also asked the US to lift a ban on the Afghan central bank reserves.
The US State Department announced on Friday that a delegation will meet Saturday and Sunday in Doha with senior Taliban representatives, but stressed that the meeting did not indicate that Washington was recognizing the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. “We remain clear that any legitimacy must be earned through the Taliban’s own actions.”
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan in mid-August, as the United States was in the middle of a chaotic troop withdrawal from the country.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 removed the Taliban from power, but it worsened the security situation in the country. Two decades later, the Taliban have returned to power again.
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