Taliban, Western envoys discuss Afghanistan crisis in Oslo

The Taliban and Western diplomats launched high-level talks in Oslo on Monday, according to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

The Taliban’s delegation, led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan, met with envoys from the US, France, UK, Germany, the EU and Norway.

It’s the first talks that Western officials have held with the Taliban since the extremist group seized control of Afghanistan last August.

How do the two sides view the negotiations?

The Taliban are urging the US and other countries to unblock nearly $10 billion (€8.8 billion) in frozen Afghan assets. The group says these funds are needed to tackle the country’s dire humanitarian crisis.

“We are requesting them to unfreeze Afghan assets and not punish ordinary Afghans because of the political discourse,” Taliban representative Shafiullah Azam said late Sunday. “Because of the starvation, because of the deadly winter, I think it’s time for the international community to support Afghans, not punish them because of their political disputes.”

Western countries, meanwhile, are urging the Taliban to respect the rights of women and girls. Western powers are also pushing the group to share power with ethnic and religious minorities in the country.

The three-day discussions began on Sunday, with the Taliban meeting representatives from civil society.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, as the US and other NATO countries attempted to pull out their military and diplomatic personnel from the country.