Taliban FM Amir Khan Muttaqi: We Want Good Economic, Political Relations With The U.S., The World; We Have Abided By The Doha Agreement, But The U.S. Has Not

The Taliban's Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a September 2, 2022 interview on Al-Araby TV (Qatar) that Afghanistan wants good economic and political relations with the United States and the rest of the world. He said that there is currently a good opportunity for everyone since there is now "security" and a central government in Afghanistan, and he said that the U.S. should offer cooperation rather than exert pressure. He also claimed that the U.S. has failed to abide by the Doha Agreement, but that the Taliban has done so fully.

Amir Khan Muttaqi: "[Our relations with the U.S.] depend on America's policy and responses. We have announced over and over again, and have told them directly at the negotiations table, that we want good relations with America and the rest of the countries of the world.

"We want economic and political relations with them. There is an opportunity for this in Afghanistan now, especially since there is security and a central government in Afghanistan.

"Other countries can also benefit from this opportunity. We are looking forward to the American leaders reaching this conclusion as well. The option of exerting pressure is futile. They should offer cooperation.

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"The Doha Agreement was agreed upon, and the Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] abided by all the clauses and commitments. Throughout the 14 months set for the withdrawal of the U.S. forces and its allies, the Islamic Emirate did not attack these forces. However, these forces bombed [us] several times.

"According to the agreement, they were supposed to release all our prisoners, but they did not do so. When we took over victoriously, we released them ourselves. America also pledged to remove the leaders of the Islamic Emirate from its black lists, and from the most-wanted lists. However, they have not removed their names from these lists.

"In conclusion, the Islamic Emirate has abided by all its commitments. The agreement stipulated that the U.S. would not interfere in any way in Afghanistan, but today, we see that they do not abide by this. I believe that the solution lies in the implementation of this agreement, and avoid repeating the failed attempts of the past 20 years, which did not benefit Afghanistan. All the attempts to exert pressure and use force have been futile. We must proceed with negotiations, cooperation, and acceptance of the other. This will benefit both America and us."