Macron: "Discussed Evacuation Operations with Taliban, but Do Not Officially Recognize the Regime"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that regarding the evacuation of Afghan civilians, the United States, France, and other allied countries are requesting cooperation from the Taliban and holding consultations, but this does not mean they recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan.

On the 29th (local time), while visiting Iraq, President Macron said in an interview with French TF1 broadcast, "We must carry out evacuation operations in Afghanistan, and those controlling these operations are the Taliban," adding, "From a practical standpoint, we must negotiate with the Taliban, but this does not mean recognizing the Taliban as the official government."

President Macron explained, "We have set conditions for consultations with the Taliban. The Taliban must respect humanitarian law by allowing those eligible for asylum to leave, clearly oppose all terrorist acts, and respect human rights and the dignity of women?these are the three conditions we presented."

Earlier that day, over 100 countries from the international community, including the United States, the European Union (EU), and NATO member states, issued a joint statement announcing that even after the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces, they will continue evacuation operations for their nationals remaining in Afghanistan, as well as local people who cooperated with U.S. and allied forces, and will issue related documents, having consulted with the Taliban on this matter.

President Macron said, "There may still be hundreds or thousands of people in Afghanistan whom France needs to evacuate," and added, "We are discussing with the Taliban, but we cannot guarantee whether we can evacuate many more," showing a cautious stance on the issue of accepting Afghan refugees.

Within France, especially among the right-wing camp, concerns about security risks have been raised regarding refugee acceptance, and public opposition to accepting refugees is reportedly very strong. President Macron also stated, "What is certain is that if more Afghan refugees want to come to Europe, this will place a burden on our capacity to accommodate them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.