US and Taliban agree to maintain contact.

WASHINGTON: Thursday marked the conclusion of a two-day meeting between the United States and Afghanistan’s de facto rulers in Doha, Qatar. According to a Taliban spokesperson, the talks centered on the release of frozen Taliban assets.

This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two parties in more than three months, and both parties agreed to continue the dialogue, according to a statement released by the Taliban after the meeting.

The United States does not recognize the Taliban government, and a US official warned earlier this week that the Doha talks should not be interpreted as diplomatic recognition of the current rulers in Kabul.

Thomas West, Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the Taliban, led their respective delegations to the meeting.

After the meeting, Muttaqi’s spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on Twitter that a US Treasury Representative was also present and discussed their discussions with “the US Justice Department and other legal experts on frozen Afghan assets.”

An official from the State Department told that the US delegation included the Deputy General Counsel of the Treasury and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of USAID. Balkhi reported that a White House official also accompanied them.

The Afghan delegation consisted of officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Afghan Central Bank, according to Balkhi, who confirmed that the talks focused on “unfreezing Afghan assets.”

The US media reported earlier this week that US and Taliban officials were collaborating on a mechanism that would allow the Afghan central bank access to the frozen funds.

After Taliban fighters captured Kabul in August 2021, the US Treasury withheld $7 billion in Afghan assets. According to the majority of reports, the Taliban were also seeking US assistance to unfreeze $2 billion held in European banks.

In February, President Joe Biden released $3.5 billion for the benefit of the Afghan people. The remainder was held for pending terrorism-related lawsuits against the Taliban in US courts.

The vast majority of Afghans, including the Taliban and their opponents, desire that the United States release the entire $7 billion.

A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to the Voice of America news service that the Biden administration was “working to find an appropriate mechanism that can manage the $3.5 billion that President Biden set aside.” The spokesperson added that the United States was “urgently working to address complex questions regarding the use of these funds to ensure that they benefit the Afghan people and not the Taliban.”

The foreign minister of the Taliban, according to Balkhi, emphasized that engagement with his government “should be cooperative and constructive as opposed to using pressure tactics to achieve progress.” Balkhi asserted that the U.S. delegation assured them that Washington favored engagement and desired a stable Afghanistan. Balkhi reported that US officials stated that Washington “did not support any armed opposition in Afghanistan” and that such actions were “detrimental” to the country.

According to the Taliban, Muttaqi reaffirmed his government’s commitment to preventing anyone from using Afghan territory to harm neighboring or other countries.