TALIBAN TEAM MEETS EU-US DELEGATION; BRUSSELS VOWS €1 BILLION IN AID

DOHA: The Taliban held their first face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation on Tuesday in Qatar while Brussels pledged one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in aid for Afghanistan.

The hardline Islamists are seeking recognition, as well as assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster, after they returned to power in August following the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU aid package, meant “to avert a major humanitarian and socio-economic collapse”, at a virtual G20 summit hosted by Italy on Tuesday.

She stressed the funds are “direct support” for Afghans and would be channelled to international organisations working on the ground, not to the Taliban’s interim government which Brussels does not recognise.

“We’ve been clear about our conditions for any engagement with Afghan authorities, including on the respect of human rights,” she said. “The reports speak for themselves. The Afghan people shouldn’t pay the price of the Taliban’s actions.”

EU countries are wary at the prospect of a surge of Afghan asylum-seekers trying to enter the bloc, as happened in 2015 with Syrians fleeing their war. Brussels’ calculation is that donating money to help stabilise Afghanistan and assist countries between it and Europe could stem any flow.

The talks in Doha were facilitated by Qatar, which has hosted a Taliban political office. “Engaging with them (Taliban) is the most important now,” said Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, a special envoy to Qatar’s foreign minister, who brushed aside the question of whether to recognise a Taliban government.