Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has said that the Taliban government wants to normalize relations with the United States and has called on Washington to refrain from a “confrontational approach” toward the Taliban.
In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News, Muttaqi said Kabul and Washington could establish their relations on the basis of “mutual respect and shared interests.”
He said the Taliban are currently prioritizing the expansion of relations with various countries and described international recognition of the Taliban government as a “final issue.”
Muttaqi urged the United States to reassess its policy toward Afghanistan in light of the Taliban’s current position and circumstances.
The Taliban foreign minister’s call for normalized relations with Washington comes as Western countries continue to regard the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls as one of the major obstacles to normalizing relations with the group.
Asked about the reopening of secondary schools, high schools, and universities to girls, Muttaqi did not provide a specific timeline.
Muttaqi also described relations between Afghanistan and Japan as “historic and close” and called on the Japanese government to facilitate the resumption of operations at Afghanistan’s embassy in Tokyo.
According to him, the embassy suspended its activities in Dalwa this year following disagreements over the acceptance of new Taliban-appointed diplomats.
Muttaqi had previously called on the United States, in an interview with The New York Times, to invest in Afghanistan’s mining, dam, and road infrastructure sectors.
Regarding the Taliban’s military and technical cooperation with Russia, he said the purpose of the cooperation is to repair and maintain Russian-made weapons, emphasizing that the cooperation is “not directed against any particular country.”
On Pakistan, Muttaqi said the Taliban government supports dialogue as a means of resolving its differences with Islamabad.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
