Afghanistan, (UNI/Sputnik) The United States is not yet ready to reopen its embassy in Afghanistan, but continues to monitor the security situation in the country while maintaining diplomatic ties with the Taliban (under UN sanctions over terrorist activities), US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said on Wednesday. “At the moment, we are not prepared to reopen our embassy. I think we are evaluating the security situation carefully,” West said in an interview to Afghan broadcaster 1TV.
West added that he “misses being in Afghanistan very much” and hopes to return to the country at some point. Asked about US recognition of the Islamic Emirate (the proclaimed name of Afghanistan by the Taliban), the representative said that there is no specific timeframe for it, adding that the Taliban have yet to meet the requirements for recognition by the US and other countries.
“We don’t have a calendar, we were thinking of a specific time when we were considering full recognition of the Taliban. What I would say is that my bosses have told me to continue diplomacy with the Taliban in order to protect American interests,” he said. West noted that the US hopes Afghanistan will continue maintaining good relations with other countries.
“We want Afghanistan to have good relations with Russia, we want Afghanistan to have good relations with China as well, as with Iran, and India, and Pakistan, and the Central Asian states as well. It is not for the United States to pick and choose who Afghanistan has good relations with,” he said. In August 2021, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and established an interim government in September.
Since then, Afghanistan has been facing an economic crisis and the international community has been raising concerns over human rights and press freedoms in the country, as well as an increased terrorist threat. UNI/SPUTNIK
