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Ned Price, US State Department spokesman |
The US State Department announced, on Tuesday, that Washington's position on the upcoming governments in Afghanistan depends on the "behavior of the Taliban."
"In Afghanistan, if the government does not respect human rights and harbors terrorists, we will not cooperate with it," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Price indicated that they moved the US embassy in Kabul to Hamid Karzai Airport.
He stressed that they are in coordination with the United States' international partners, and that Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken had telephone contacts with his counterparts, led by Turkey.
In response to a question about whether the United States will continue to recognize the departed President Ashraf Ghani , Price indicated that Afghanistan did not witness a traditional transfer of power, and that Washington would move in parallel with the international community to recognize the president of Afghanistan.
He pointed out that his country continues its contacts with representatives of the "Taliban" in Doha, and that the US military is communicating with the movement on the ground in Afghanistan.
He stressed that the United States will continue its diplomatic representation in Afghanistan, as long as Hamid Karzai International Airport is safe, and that they will be able to evacuate a large number of Afghans who helped the United States throughout the previous period.
After seizing several capitals of key strategic provinces in recent days and forcing government forces to surrender or flee, the Taliban fighters arrived last Sunday in the capital, Kabul, and declared control of the country.
After the departure of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his close aides, former President Hamid Karzai, veteran politician Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and chief peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah formed a council with the aim of ensuring a smooth transition of power.
The United States, through a military force of about 3,000 soldiers at Kabul airport, is working to complete the transfer of American and Afghan nationals who cooperated with Washington.