West Refuses to Respond to Taliban's Request to Unfreeze Afghan Assets, Spokesman Says

DOHA (Sputnik) - Western countries remain silent in response to the request of the government formed by the Taliban to unfreeze foreign Afghan assets in Western banks, Taliban* spokesman Mohammad Naeem told Sputnik on Tuesday after the meeting in Qatar with the EU delegation.

"Today, the Afghan government delegation met with representatives of the United States and about 15 European countries, including Norway, Italy, Germany, France, the UK, Sweden. We discussed well-known problems — human rights, women's rights, the creation of a safe corridor for entry and exit from the country, as well as unfreezing Afghan foreign assets, which are the money of the people. It is the right of the people to return this money. However, we have not received any answer yet, they are silent and do not give us any answer. They mention the provision of humanitarian aid for certain amounts, but that's all temporary solutions," Naeem said.

The Afghan delegation, which included members of the new government, made its first overseas visit to Qatar.

According to the spokesman, there is a difference between humanitarian and political issues, but ordinary people should not suffer from problems in politics.

Afghanistan is on the verge of a major humanitarian catastrophe, and Western countries continue to talk about separate issues, such as the education of women, he said.

According to the Taliban government, about $9-$10 billion of Afghan funds have been frozen in Western banks.

*The Taliban is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.