Taliban excluded from the meeting
Apparently, the Taliban were deliberately not invited to the discussions by Guterres. A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan criticized this as discriminatory and unjustified. During the press conference, a journalist asked under what conditions the UN Secretary-General would meet the Taliban.
Guterres answered evasively. “When the right time comes, of course, I will not reject this possibility – today is not the right time for that.” Afghanistan is currently experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. According to the UN, two-thirds of the population depend on humanitarian aid for their survival.
Guterres emphasized that it was now up to the United Nations to maintain its engagement in Afghanistan. Lessons must be learned from the past. He announced that there would be another meeting in the future.
