The Taliban rule out cooperation with the United States

Topics of the talks that took place in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday included extremist groups, the evacuation of US citizens and humanitarian aid, according to BBC.

The countries met the day after Afghanistan experienced its deadliest attack after the US withdrawal – around 50 people were killed and 100 injured during a suicide attack in a mosque in the city of Kunduz. IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban signaled their inclination to open up for evacuation, but ruled out cooperating to keep extremist groups within Afghanistan’s borders, the news agency wrote. AP.

At the same time, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen made it clear that the country “is capable of dealing with IS on its own” when asked whether it would cooperate with the United States in dealing with the jihadist group.

Not an acknowledgment

On Friday, a spokesman for the US State Department said what the delegation wanted to get out of the meeting with Afghanistan’s recent government. Among other things, they wanted to use the opportunity to put pressure on the Afghan authorities to safeguard women’s rights, continue the evacuation and open up for humanitarian aid.

The United States has made it clear that meeting with the Taliban is not synonymous with recognizing the group.

After the meetings on Saturday, Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the parties had agreed to maintain the terms of the Doha agreement signed in 2020.

The agreement includes the Taliban taking action to prevent extremist groups from posing a security threat to the United States and its allies.

Warns against interference

According to the Taliban’s foreign minister, the Islamist group wants to improve relations with the international community, but he nevertheless warned against interfering in the country’s internal rules.