US To Provide Humanitarian Aid To Afghanistan

The U.S. will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan but won’t recognize the Taliban as the country’s leaders, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.

U.S. and Taliban officials met for the first time since American forces left the county in August in Doha, Qatar, according to the Associated Press. U.S. officials said they would provide aid to Afghanistan, which faces an economic disaster, at the meeting’s conclusion.

U.S. officials said the leaders “discussed the United States’ provision of robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people,” the AP reported. The aid was promised after officials agreed it didn’t mean the U.S. would officially recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government.

Taliban officials said the discussions “went well,” the AP reported. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price described the meetings as “candid and professional,” and he said that officials would be watching the Taliban’s actions closely.

“The U.S. delegation focused on security and terrorism concerns and safe passage for U.S. citizens, other foreign nationals and our Afghan partners, as well as on human rights, including the meaningful participation of women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society,” Price said in a statement, the AP reported.

The Taliban’s interim foreign minister told U.S. officials that the militant group won’t allow extremists to attack other countries from Afghanistan, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told the AP. That said, Taliban officials also stated that they won’t help contain ISIS activity in the country.

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, the AP reported. “Daesh” is an Arabic acronym for ISIS.