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As French evacuations from Kabul have ended, President Emmanuel Macron has sought to maintain national attention on his handling of the crisis in Afghanistan – admitting that Parisian diplomats are in talks with Taliban leaders and using the Security Council of the UN to push for a “safe”. zone ”to protect ongoing humanitarian operations.
In an interview with TF1 television on Sunday evening after his trip to Iraq, Macron said that discussions with the insurgents now in charge in Afghanistan – and other regional bodies – were inevitable in order to save the lives of thousands of Afghans who still need protection.
“We have entered into a dialogue with the Taliban,” Macron said, adding that this did not amount to a French “recognition” of the group as the legitimate rulers of the country.
“Let’s be clear: the Taliban are in control of Kabul. Operationally, practically, we need to have these discussions.
End of the airlift
The French diplomatic team in Kabul, comprising the ambassador and soldiers from Operation Apagan, landed at the Vélizy-Villacoublay military airport in the southwestern suburbs of Paris on Sunday – marking the end of an operation evacuation which saw 2,800 people transported to Paris.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan is also in its final stages and comes amid the threat of further attacks from the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) – which are the archenemies of the Taliban.
While American troops were due to leave on Tuesday, in accordance with an agreement with the Taliban, around 100 countries – including France – issued a joint statement on Sunday revealing that the Taliban had agreed to allow the evacuations to continue.
Macron stressed that France was not done with Afghanistan, using interviews given to both TF1 and the Sunday Newspaper (JDD) to clarify his country’s position on a country he believes would send an influx of migrants to Europe.
“On our list, we still have several thousand Afghans we want to protect,” he told the JDD, adding that the purpose of dialogue with Taliban militants was only to facilitate humanitarian operations.
“Are we going to succeed? I cannot guarantee it.
Strict conditions
The talks come with the condition that the Taliban respect humanitarian law, women’s rights and that they do not get along with regional terrorist groups, Macron added.
Following the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, Macron was accused of playing politics after warning that France and other EU countries needed a “robust plan” to protect against “irregular migratory flows” from Afghanistan.
He later replied that his words had been “hijacked” and taken out of context.
To date, most asylum requests in France come from Afghan citizens, with more than 10,000 requests filed in 2020.
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