WASHINGTON — The United States can legally engage with designated terrorist organizations, including the Taliban, when it aligns with national interests, the State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said on Tuesday, in response to a question, referencing past and present practices.
Miller highlighted that the previous administration negotiated directly with the Taliban as part of the 2020 agreement to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
“So as a legal matter, no, it is not. We do have the ability to engage with organizations that have been designated,” he said. “You might remember that the previous administration engaged with the Taliban while it was a designated terrorist organization and struck an agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan with the Taliban while the Taliban was a designated terrorist organization.”
He added: “So we do have the ability, when it is in our interests, legally to communicate with a designated terrorist organization. There are things you can’t do under the law, but talking with people is not one of them.”
The remarks come amid ongoing discussions about U.S. engagement in conflict zones, including Afghanistan and Syria, where complex negotiations often require direct or indirect communication with influential groups.
Mr. Miller also noted the United States employs a range of communication methods in Syria, including direct dialogue and working through intermediaries. He declined to provide specifics but acknowledged Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s active role in discussions with nations that have influence in the region.
“When it comes to engagement with groups on the ground in Syria – so we have a number of ways of communicating – sometimes directly with various groups, sometimes with intermediaries either inside Syria or outside Syria,” he said. “We have been engaging in those conversations over the past few days. The Secretary himself has been engaged in conversations with countries that have influence inside Syria. And we’ll continue to do that, but I’m not going to get into the details of those conversations.”
This comes as Bashar Assad’s regime collapsed on Friday, Dec. 8.
