Taliban: talks with Western diplomats went very well

Описание: (25 Jan 2022) Talks between the Taliban, Western diplomats and civil society are closing in Norway, with acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi praising talks that he said "went very well".
"It was a very good trip, such trips will bring us closer to the world," he told the Associated Press at the end of three days of meetings that focused on humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and human rights.
The closed-door meetings were taking place at a hotel in the snow-capped mountains above the Norwegian capital of Oslo come at a crucial time for Afghanistan as freezing temperatures are compounding misery from the downward economic spiral that has come with the fall of the U.S.-backed government and the Taliban takeover last summer.
Aid groups and international agencies estimate that about 23 million people, more than half the country, face severe hunger and nearly nine million are on the brink of starvation. People have resorted to selling possessions to buy food, burning furniture for warmth and even selling their children.
Muttaqi said the Taliban government will do "its best to protect Afghanistan form any sorts of problems, attract more assistance, seeking solutions for the economy problems."
The Taliban are demanding that US$10 billion frozen by the United States and other Western countries be released, but there is no agreement on that so far. The United Nations has managed to provide some liquidity and allowed the Taliban administration to pay for imports, including electricity.
But before they will agree to relax sanctions, Western powers are demanding increased rights for Afghan women and girls, along with the West’s recurring demand for the Taliban administration to share power with Afghanistan’s minority ethnic and religious groups.
The new Afghan rulers told The Associated Press last week they aim to have schools open for girls and women in late March, after the Afghan new year. They repeated that promise in Oslo, according to Egeland, who met with the Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

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