The European Union (EU) will talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan to prevent a “humanitarian and potential migratory disaster”, Josef Borrell said.
After an emergency video conference of 27 EU member states’ foreign ministers, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said “we have to get in touch with authorities in Kabul, whatever they are. The Taliban have won the war so we will have to talk to them.”
As the EU meeting took place, the Taliban held a press conference saying they declared a general amnesty and insisted they would not seek “revenge” against opponents.
In their first official news briefing since the takeover of Kabul, the Taliban said they wanted peaceful relations with other countries and would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.
Borrell told a news conference “I haven’t said that we are going to recognise the Taliban, I just said that we have to talk to them for everything, even to try to protect women and girls. Even for that, you have to get in touch with them”, he said.
The EU has called on the Taliban to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law in all circumstances. It said that the EU will also support Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries in coping with negative spill overs, which are to be expected from an increasing flow of refugees and migrants.