During a meeting with Robert Dickson, Charge d'affaires of the British embassy for Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban’s foreign minister, rejected the appointment of a UN special representative for Afghan peace talks.
Earlier, in a report to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres called for the appointment of a special representative for Afghanistan.
During the meeting with Dickson, Muttaqi acknowledged "many positive aspects" in the UN coordinator's report for Afghanistan. However, he expressed that appointing a new representative for Afghanistan is "not appropriate" given the current situation.
Last month, following the assessment of the UN Coordinator, Guterres recommended to the Security Council, the appointment of a new representative to enhance interaction between international and Afghan stakeholders, fostering better coordination.
According to him, the mission of the new United Nations representative should prioritise the advancement of intra-Afghan dialogues.
However, the Taliban's foreign minister has rejected the suggestion.
In the meeting with Dickson, Muttaqi also said that currently, Afghanistan "is progressing and has good relations with its neighbours, the world and the region”. The Taliban foreign minister emphasised that "the doors for interaction are open to everyone and the current situation should be strengthened”.
On Tuesday, the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its statement quoted the Charge d’Affaires of the British embassy as expressing a desire for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan while rejecting the use of violence to achieve political goals.
Based on the Taliban's statement, Dickson added that the UK’s position on not supporting violent means to achieve political goals has been officially announced.
