Geneva talks led to sanctions relief, says Muttaqi

KABUL (Pajhwok): Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says the Afghan government and Western envoys have agreed on sanctions relief.

The agreement on sanctions easing came during last month’s visit by a high-level government delegation to Oslo for talks Western diplomats.

A Russian media outlet quoted Muttaqi as saying the delegates held detailed discussions with EU, US and Norwegian officials from January 23 to 25.

The foreign minister told Sputnik: “Of course, they had concerns and we had demands but the meetings were very successful.

“We were able to convince them on many issues. Especially in talks with the US, we made progress in lifting sanctions,” he claimed.

Western envoys, besides promising humanitarian assistance, had agreed to issue the Taliban with licences bringing some central bank reserves back to Afghanistan, he added.

Muttaqi hailed the Norwegian talks as a great opportunity, a great meeting full of achievements. The talks also involved special representatives and envoys from the US, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK.

The foreign minister accused the Biden administration of not honouring the commitments the US had held out during Doha talks.

He alleged: “No, the United States has not taken action in some aspects [of the 2020 Doha agreement].”  The US had failed to facilitate the gradual release of fighters, he said.

The US had also breached its promise to remove Taliban members from international blacklists, Muttaqi continued.

On the other hand, he insisted, the caretaker Afghan government had honoured its commitment to preventing terrorists from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the US and its allies.

PAN Monitor/mud