US Charge d’Affaires for Afghanistan Karen Decker has said that the option for Taliban recognition is not on the table for the United States, adding that the possibility of the existence of a legitimate government for the Taliban belongs to the decision of the people of Afghanistan.
Speaking to Amu in an interview this week, the US charge d’affaires said that Taliban has not addressed its commitments in the Doha agreement and is not willing to engage with the world.
“Certainly, recognition is not on the table for us,” she said.
The remarks come as special envoys for Afghanistan from various countries attended a meeting in Doha, hosted by the United Nations, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
“I cannot even begin to describe what the relationship between the Taliban and organizations like al-Qaeda is,” she said. “But the fact that [former leader] Zawahiri was in downtown Kabul was a violation of the Doha agreement.”
The US charge d’affaires said that the UN meeting about Afghanistan in Doha shows that the world has a common view about not recognizing the Taliban.
The US has run its diplomatic mission for Afghanistan out of Doha since August 2021 – following the withdrawal of foreign troops and the collapse of the former government.
