KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, says the group will participate in the upcoming UN talks on Afghanistan if the group’s conditions are accepted. The regime’s chief diplomat also reiterated their disapproval for a UN special envoy for his country, a post the world body has been trying for months to establish.
During a meeting with the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, on Tuesday, April 23, Muttaqi said that the group’s participation will be conditioned on the UN sharing information on the meeting’s agenda and structure with Kabul beforehand.
The UN is planning to host another round of talks on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, sometime in May with the hopes that it can convince the regime in Kabul to join. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted the second meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in February in order to coordinate global responses to the political and economic crisis in the country.
Although the UN extended an invitation to the Taliban, the regime declined to participate, insisting on being recognized as the “sole official representative of Afghanistan” and on holding talks with the UN Secretary-General, both of which were rejected.
Among the contentious issues between the UN and the Taliban is the potential appointment of a UN special envoy, a key recommendation of an independent assessment the organization conducted in the fall of 2023. The regime argues that such deliberations are inappropriate as the position is often used in extraordinary conditions and conflict situations. The Taliban say there is no conflict in Afghanistan and the regime enjoys growingly friendly relationships with the region.
In his assessment report, the UN special coordinator Feridun Sinirlioğlu wrote that in order for the international community to better respond to the basic needs of Afghanistan’s population, increase regional cooperation, and facilitate political dialogue among Afghans, a new envoy was necessary in addition to the one leading UNAMA, the organization’s political mission in Kabul.
In late December, The UN Security Council (UNSC) endorsed the recommendation in resolution 2721, passing with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions (China and Russia), which conditioned the appointment of a UN special envoy on Taliban approval.
While the Taliban welcomed the rest of the recommendations, they opposed the appointment of a special envoy as unnecessary, claiming they are capable of managing Afghanistan’s internal affairs and diplomacy.
According to the Taliban ministry of foreign affairs, the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan emphasized during the meeting that the UN should secure the Taliban’s agreement for its upcoming meeting on Afghanistan. He stressed that without the regime’s agreement, the meeting cannot yield any results.
The Taliban are aware of their leverage and seem to utilize it against an international community that is no longer international or a community.
While Western powers such as the United States and European countries have rallied behind the proposal for a new envoy, regional stakeholders, especially Russia and China, have conditioned their support for any UN initiative on the buy-in from the regime in Kabul.
