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Emmanuel Macron says dialogue with Taliban does not mean its recognition

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 31 Aug 2021

Emmanuel Macron says dialogue with Taliban does not mean its recognition

Image: Wallpaper Cave

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has said dialogue with Taliban, the hardline Islamist group which overrun Afghanistan, does not mean it is being recognised.

"This dialogue is needed for the evacuation," he said in an interview with the TF-1 television channel as quoted by TASS.

"The Taliban controls Kabul and the territory of Afghanistan, so we must maintain discussions. But it doesn’t mean their recognition. We have set conditions for them," he said.

As the last US military flight carrying troops left the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul yesterday, the United States completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, ending a two-decade-long war ignominiously, with Taliban in control.

The last three US military evacuation flights departed HKIA just ahead of the August 31 deadline. The last one, a C-17 Globemaster transport plane, took off from the Kabul airport at 3:29 pm. East Coast Time, Russia Today (RT) reported quoting General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM).