DOHA (Al Jazeera) – Senior Taliban officials and United States representatives have discussed “opening a new page” in their countries’ relationship as they kicked off talks in Qatar, according to Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister.
The in-person meetings that began in Doha on Saturday are the first since U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August – ending a 20-year occupation – and the Taliban’s rise to power.
Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, said the focus of the Afghan delegation was humanitarian aid, as well the implementation of the agreement the Taliban signed with Washington last year which paved the way for the final U.S. withdrawal.
The minister said the Afghan delegation had asked the U.S. to lift its ban on the reserves of Afghanistan’s central bank. He added that the U.S. would offer Afghan people vaccines against COVID-19.
The Taliban delegation will later meet representatives from the European Union.
A spokesperson of the U.S. State Department said on Friday evening that the talks were not about recognizing or legitimizing the Taliban as Afghanistan’s leaders, but are a continuation of pragmatic talks on issues of national interest for the U.S.
He said the priority was the continued safe departure of Afghans, U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals from Afghanistan.
The State Department did not disclose who would travel to the Qatari capital from the U.S. side.
Since the Taliban took power, the Daesh in Khorasan Province has ramped up attacks on the group, as well as ethnic and religious minorities.
On Friday, a Daesh-K bomber killed dozens of Shia Muslims and wounded dozens in the deadliest attack since the U.S. departure.