BRUSSELS, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union is ready to begin dialogue with the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) but their recognition will depend on what they do, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said.
“The Taliban have won the war. So we will have to talk with them, in order to engage in a dialogue as soon as necessary to prevent a humanitarian and a potential migratory disaster but also a humanitarian crisis,” he told a news conference after an online extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers. “It is not a matter of official recognition, it is a matter of dealing with them.”
“This dialogue will also have to focus on the means to prevent a return of a foreign terrorist presence in Afghanistan,” he noted. “We will deal with the Afghan authorities such as they are, at the same time remaining naturally vigilant of the respect of international obligations.”
After the United States announced the end of an armed operation in Afghanistan and began to withdraw its troops, the Taliban launched a large-scale offensive on the government army and by August 15 entered Kabul after meeting no resistance.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was resigning to avoid bloodshed and fled the country. Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy employees.
LONDON: Britain will take in up to 20,000 Afghans in the coming years, as part of a resettlement plan following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Home Office said in a statement.
Some 5,000 Afghans will be eligible to be resettled in Britain in the first year of the plan, it said.
The resettlement plan was unveiled hours before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to address the parliament, recalled from summer recess, on the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan.
Johnson spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening about the evacuation of the two countries’ nationals, current and former staff, and others from Afghanistan.
Just over a week, the Taliban, which the United States overthrew in 2001, went from winning control of its first provincial capital to taking over Kabul, capital of the war-torn Asian country.
Britain’s resettlement plan for Afghans has already received criticism for not being generous enough.
“This proposal does not meet the scale of the challenge,” Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said.
Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, said, “20,000 should be the starting point of this scheme, not the target.” — NNN-AGENCIES
