On September 8, 2021, during a joint press availability with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the U.S. State Secretary Antony J. Blinked expressed concern about the composition of the new interim Afghan government.
According to Blinken, the U.S. is still assessing the list. However, there are already many concerns about the affiliations and track records of the new government representatives in addition to the fact that they are all members of the Taliban.
“Yesterday the Taliban named a new interim government. We’re assessing the announcement, but despite professing that a new government would be inclusive, the announced list of names consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates, and no women. We’re also concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of those individuals,” U.S. State Secretary Antony J. Blinken stated. “We understand the Taliban has presented this as a caretaker cabinet. We will judge it, and them, by its actions. The international community has made clear its expectation that the Afghan people deserve an inclusive government,” he added.
In addition, Blinken said that together with Foreign Minister Maas and they co-hosted a virtual ministerial meeting of 22 countries plus NATO, the European Union, the United Nations, to discuss the next chapter on Afghanistan.
“The Taliban seek international legitimacy and support; any legitimacy, any support, will have to be earned. And we’ve heard that across the board from everyone participating in today’s session. We also discussed how we will hold the Taliban to their commitments and obligations to let people travel freely; to respect their basic rights, including women and minorities; to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks; and not to carry out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan,” Blinken stated. “We’ll also hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow humanitarian access. The toll of conflict, drought, COVID-19, have hit the people of Afghanistan very hard and left millions displaced. According to the United Nations, some 50 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance,” he added.
Both Blinken and Maas reaffirmed that there will not be any diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, but in order to evacuate all people they had to hold the talks with the Taliban.
“And the question of a diplomatic representation is something we’re discussing with our international partners. We are coordinating our efforts on this issue. We don’t think it’s helpful for everybody to do their own thing, and this is one reason for our meeting with so many colleagues here today. We want to have an international coordination process. We don’t want to be played off against each other from the Taliban. But if we want to evacuate German nationals and our local staff and vulnerable groups from Afghanistan in whichever way, it will be necessary to continue to talk to the Taliban regardless of a diplomatic recognition,” Maas stated.
Secretary Blinken, in turn, agreed, “And I fully agree with my friend Heiko. I would simply say or simply add that the nature of a Taliban-led government’s relationship with us, with the international community, will depend entirely on its actions in the weeks and months in time ahead.”