Ready To Disburse IDR 16.3 Trillion In Humanitarian Aid, European Union: For Afghanistan, Not The Taliban

Presiden Komisi Eropa Ursula von der Leyen. (Wikimedia Commons / European Parliament)

JAKARTA - The Taliban held their first face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation in Qatar on Tuesday, when Brussels also pledged 1 billion euros in aid for Afghanistan.

At the Doha meeting and the world's main economic conference, the G20, the message for the Taliban was the same, the world is committed to humanitarian assistance for the suffering Afghan people, and the country must not become a militant base.

The European Union opened the virtual G20 summit by pledging a one billion euro aid package, including money for urgent humanitarian needs and Afghanistan's neighbors accepting Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have been battling for international recognition, making it easier for international aid to enter to avert a humanitarian catastrophe since they took power last August.

"The aid is intended to prevent a major humanitarian and socio-economic catastrophe. It is direct support for Afghanistan and will be channeled through international organizations, not to the interim government formed by the Taliban which is not recognized by Brussels (EU headquarters)," explained EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quoted AFP October 12.

"We have been clear about our conditions for any engagement with the Afghan authorities, including in respecting human rights."

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi who hosted the G20 talks said they agreed to work together to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and that this should involve contact with the Taliban.

"It is very difficult to see how one can help the Afghan people, without the involvement of the Taliban government," he said.

"Instead of responding and arguing, we now have an awareness of this emergency and the huge responsibility the G20 has towards the Afghan people," he said at a post-summit news conference.

"The G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing direct humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people through independent international organizations while promoting fundamental human rights for all Afghans, including women, girls, and members of minority groups," the United States said.

To note, international aid has been blocked to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power following the withdrawal of the US and other international troops after 20 years of war.

In addition, state assets held overseas have been frozen, while food prices and unemployment have risen, triggering warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe once winter arrives.

EU countries are wary of the prospect of a wave of Afghan asylum seekers trying to enter the bloc, as happened in 2015 with Syrians fleeing their country's war.

During the virtual summit, live talks were held in Doha. The meeting was facilitated by Qatar, which has long hosted the Taliban's political office.

"I think engaging with them (the Taliban) is the most important thing right now," said Mutlaq al-Qahtani, special envoy for Qatar's foreign minister.

"Priorities, as we are talking about now, are humanitarian (situation) education, free passage of people who want to leave," he said at the Global Security Forum conference in Doha.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was considering a 'pragmatic, practical, engagement rather than recognition'.

"That relationship will be determined by the behavior of the Taliban and future administrations," Price told reporters in Washington.

EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali described the meeting as an informal exchange at a technical level, not an acknowledgment of the interim government.