A US State Department spokesman told AFP that a US delegation would meet with senior Taliban officials on Saturday and Sunday in the Qatari capital, Doha.

“We want to push the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to form an inclusive government with broad support,” the spokesman said.

It further states that the United States will also ask the Taliban to open up to humanitarian aid “while Afghanistan faces a potentially dramatic economic slowdown and a potential humanitarian crisis.”

They will also talk about the evacuation of citizens and allies who remained in Afghanistan.

In August of this year, Western forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The Western-backed Afghan regime collapsed, and the Taliban regained power in the country, 20 years after the US invasion.

Taliban actions

The State Department stressed that the meeting does not mean that the United States recognizes the Taliban as its leaders.

“We remain clear that the Taliban’s actions must be legitimized,” she said.

Representatives from the United States who will participate are State Department Vice President and Specialist, Tom West, and USAIDS Administrator Sarah Charles. Of the Taliban, government officials will participate, writes in the city’s news-general Reuters.

US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who was previously a key figure in the dialogue with the Taliban, will not be part of the delegation.

This meeting is not about giving confession or giving body.