Afghanistan: Washington warns the Taliban, Beijing receives them
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference in New Delhi, July 28, 2021. AFP - JONATHAN ERNST
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Afghanistan risks becoming a "
pariah state
" if the Taliban take power by force, warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, visiting New Delhi.
At the same time, his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi welcomed the Afghan rebels to Beijing against a promise not to serve as a rear base for attacks.
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With our correspondent in New Delhi,
Sébastien Farcis
and our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
Since the start of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and especially the victories of the Afghan insurgents, India has been vulnerable.
Pakistani militants who fight with the Taliban could target its interests, as during the attack on its embassy in Kabul in 2008. Its foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar therefore urged the Taliban to end this alliance with Pakistan and to resume the negotiations.
"
Independence and sovereignty can only be obtained without any malignant influence,
" insisted the head of Indian diplomacy.
And the imposition of a party's will is not democratic and cannot provide stability
.
"
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar received Antony Blinken, visiting New Delhi this Wednesday, July 28.
The US Secretary of State also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also said he was very worried about the atrocities committed by the Taliban in recent days: “
The Taliban say they want international recognition, the end of sanctions and the possibility for their leaders to travel freely abroad.
But it is not by taking the country by force and violating the rights of its people that they will get there.
By doing so, Afghanistan risks becoming a pariah state.
"
The Taliban say they do not want to take control of the country by force.
But they also don't seem very interested in the ongoing negotiations in Qatar.
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Read also: The United States threatens to continue strikes if the Taliban continue their attacks
Message from the Taliban expected in Beijing
At the same time, a Taliban delegation led by the movement's co-founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was visiting China.
As with the arrival of North Korean officials in the country, it was not until the end of this official trip that the English-speaking Chinese media alluded to it.
Health restriction requires, as for the US Deputy Secretary of State on Monday, the Taliban delegation was not received in Beijing, but in the port city of Tianjin, thirty minutes by TGV east of the Chinese capital.
Same photo by the way on traditional Chinese painting. Mullah Baradar, in traditional attire, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Other images released including on a Weibo account affiliated with the National Commission for Development and Reform in China show nine Taliban representatives standing alongside Chinese diplomats. The Taliban would have thanked Beijing for its commitments in the service of peace in Afghanistan and for giving guarantees to the Chinese concerning security. A message awaited here as nine Chinese workers were killed in an attack in Balochistan.
China also wanted to be reassured about Xinjiang.
The repression of the Islamic movement in Uyghur East Turkestan is a responsibility of the international community, the number two Taliban has reportedly said.
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See also: Afghanistan: the Taliban seek to reassure China about its investments
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Afghanistan
Taliban
United States
China
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