Taliban foreign minister seeks good relations with France – video

Taliban foreign minister seeks good relations with France – video

In an exclusive interview, Afghanistan's acting foreign minister told a French news portal that the Islamic regime is striving for friendly relations with the French government. He urged France to reopen its embassy in Kabul and called on French humanitarian aid organisations to return to Afghanistan.

POLITIKA NAGYVILÁG English 2021. SZEPTEMBER 17. 17:59

In an exclusive interview with the French news portal LCI, Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi confirmed that the Taliban-led government is striving for good relations with the French government, adding that they want the leadership of the European country to view them as friends, not as enemies. The acting government is seeking to establish good bilateral ties with France, he said.

The Taliban foreign minister urged France to reopen its embassy in Kabul and called on French government officials and humanitarian aid workers to return to Afghanistan and resume operations. He said that the French need to provide proof that their friendly gestures are reciprocated while the Taliban’s government needs to prove that its policies will be beneficial to their neighbours and countries in the region.

These preliminary overtures by the Taliban towards foreign countries have never been experienced since the Taliban’s first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, the news portal LCI noted.

However, the new Afghan foreign minister also gave Emmanuel Macron a piece of advice during the interview, saying “I advise the young French president to be mature in his approach to Afghanistan, and avoid being hasty or rash.” He argued that otherwise, if the French ask Mr Macron why they do not have good relations with the Afghan government, he will not be able to give them a satisfactory answer.

French diplomacy has not yet commented on the Afghan minister’s speech, but regarding the recognition of the Taliban regime the Elysee palace stated in mid-August that France recognises countries, not regimes.

President Emmanuel Macron himself was less than flattering when he talked about the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in his televised speech on 16 August. He said he was going to continue fighting against every form of Islamist terrorism, adding that Afghanistan must be prevented from becoming the sanctuary of terrorism it once was.

Judging by his recent comment, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian also has little sympathy for the Taliban, calling them liars and citing that they have repeatedly failed to keep any of their promises, which is why France is refusing to engage with the Taliban government.

The French FM stated that they are expecting steps on behalf of the acting Afghan government, adding that the Taliban are in dire need of economic reinforcement and international relations.