Department of State says diplomats will discuss humanitarian issues and ‘critical interests’ with Afghan group officials.
Washington, DC – United States diplomats will meet with Taliban representatives in Qatar this week, the US Department of State has announced, in what will be rare, direct talks between Washington and the ruling Afghan group.
The Department of State said on Wednesday that Thomas West and Rina Amiri will hold meetings on Afghanistan in Astana, Kazakhstan, with representatives from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, and Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, will then meet a delegation of Taliban representatives and other Afghan ministry officials in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The pair will discuss “critical interests in Afghanistan” during the Doha meeting, the Department of State said in a statement.
“Priority issues will include humanitarian support for the people of Afghanistan, economic stabilization, fair and dignified treatment of all Afghans, including women and girls, security issues, and efforts to counter narcotics production and trafficking.”
US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 after a 20-year war. The Taliban took over the country amid the US withdrawal as the country’s Western-backed government collapsed.
Washington still does not recognise the Taliban government in Kabul and has imposed sanctions against the group and its leaders.
It is unclear whether the meetings in Doha signal a change in the US position towards the Afghan government.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has faced international condemnation, including from some Muslim countries, over restrictions the group has imposed on women’s education.
Taliban officials have expressed a willingness to work with the US if Washington lifts its sanctions against the group.