Afghanistan’s Taliban government representatives began three days of meetings on Jan. 23 in Oslo, Norway with European and U.S. government officials, in which they will again demand that Afghanistan’s $9.5 billion in seized financial reserves be returned to the country to help reverse universal poverty of the population and stop mass death from hunger and cold. Although Taliban representatives have had numerous contacts and negotiations with Afghanistan’s neighbors in South and Central Asia and with Russia and China, this is the first substantive negotiation with European officials about the disastrous human suffering in the country due to U.S. and international aid and liquidity sanctions. Associated Press reported the start of the meetings in “Taliban Talks in Norway Raise New Debate about Recognition.”
The Afghan delegation is headed by the acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. There is an American delegation there, led by Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West. But despite the pressure which has been put on the Biden Administration by mobilizations in Congress and think-tanks in which the Schiller Institute has played an important role, West sounds like he will attempt to stick to poor excuses for the sanctions. His statement released by the State Department said the United States plans in Oslo “to discuss ‘the formation of a representative political system; responses to the urgent humanitarian and economic crises; security and counterterrorism concerns; and human rights, especially education for girls and women,’ according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department,” reported AP. (https://apnews.com/article/talks-with-taliban-begin-in-norway-281532ba4dc8ba968ed7a6643aa31c71)
