BRUSSELS, Sept 14 (KUNA) -- The European Union Tuesday repeated its position to engage with the Taliban in Afghanistan but said the current interim government is "neither inclusive nor representative" and hence will not recognize it.
"To have any chance of influencing events, we have no other options but to engage with the Taliban's. Engaging does not mean recognition. No, but engaging means talking, discussing and agreeing when possible," EU High Representative Josep Borrell told a debate on Afghanistan in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today.
He noted that "the level nature of this engagement "will depend on the actions of the new government on five benchmarks set by the EU.
The five benchmarks are, Afghanistan not to be a base for the export of terrorism, respect for human rights, establishment of an inclusive and representative transitional government, free access for humanitarian aid, and allowing the departure of foreign nationals and Afghans at risk who wish to leave the country.
"In order to implement this benchmark, we agreed to coordinate our contact with the Taliban and we are considering an European Union presence in Kabul coordinated by the external action service. In fact, our delegation there has never been close," said Borrell.
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