US not ready to reopen embassy in Kabul, says Afghanistan envoy
Feb 09, 2022
Washington [US], February 10 : The United States is not yet ready to reopen its embassy in Afghanistan, but continues to monitor the security situation in the country while maintaining diplomatic ties with the Taliban, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West has said, according to a media report.
"At the moment, we are not prepared to reopen our embassy. I think we are evaluating the security situation carefully," Sputnik News Agency quoting West reported.
During an interview to Afghan broadcaster 1TV, West said that he "misses being in Afghanistan very much" and hopes to return to the country at some point, according to the Russian media.
Asked about US recognition of Afghanistan, the representative said that there is no specific timeframe for it, adding that the Taliban have yet to meet the requirements for recognition by the US and other countries.
"We don't have a calendar, we were thinking of a specific time when we were considering full recognition of the Taliban. What I would say is that my bosses have told me to continue diplomacy with the Taliban in order to protect American interests," he said.
West noted that the US hopes Afghanistan will continue maintaining good relations with other countries.
"We want Afghanistan to have good relations with Russia, we want Afghanistan to have good relations with China as well, as with Iran, and India, and Pakistan, and the Central Asian states as well. It is not for the United States to pick and choose who Afghanistan has good relations with," he said, Sputnik reported.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August last year.
After the collapse of the republic government, the Taliban had announced that Suhail Shaheen would represent Afghanistan in the UN, but he was not accepted by the organization.
