EU Chief: Taliban Behavior "Not Very Encouraging"
The EU foreign policy chief, in a meeting with Saudi officials in Riyadh, discussed Yemen and Afghanistan.
On Sunday, the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that the behavior of the Afghan government, which is in the grip of the Taliban, is "not very encouraging." He said that an economic collapse in Afghanistan would heighten terrorist threats, among other things.
The discussion took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where nuclear talks and views regarding Yemen and Afghanistan were also on the table with Saudi officials. The chief hoped that nuclear talks between the international community and Iran would restart soon in Vienna.
Since the Taliban took over the government, the European Union increased humanitarian aid. However, development assistance was put to a stop. Borrell expressed that this poses a dilemma for the EU: Financial support, according to Borrell, should pour into more promising grounds. He said, "Certainly it's a dilemma. Because if you want to contribute to avoid the collapse of an economy, in a certain way, you can consider supporting the government ... Depending on their behavior. And their behavior until now is not very encouraging."
Then again, he spoke about the aftermath of an economic collapse which may affect the population, increasing terrorist threats. He said, "If the economy collapses, then the humanitarian situation will be much worse. The tension for people to leave the country will be bigger, the terrorist threats will be bigger and so the risks emanating from Afghanistan affecting the international community will be bigger."
Borrell stressed that the country is on the brink of a devastating economic collapse, as it is far from self-sufficient: "Afghanistan has to import almost all industrial products, all fossil fuels and a large part of the wheat that is necessary to feed a country that is far from self-sufficient and that has been severely affected by droughts."
As for dealing with Yemen, Borrell described the situation as a "terrible tragedy" and called for a peaceful resolution.