Officials with the U.K. government said Tuesday it was too early to decide how and even if it will work with the Taliban to handle the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the decision on whether to work with the Taliban will depend on whether they uphold their pledges on issues such as human rights.
“At this stage, it is too early to dictate if and how we would work with the Taliban going forward,” the spokesman told Reuters. “A lot will depend on their actions from now. As we have said throughout, we intend to put pressure on them to uphold these standards and claims.”
‘HUNDREDS’ OF US CITIZENS LEFT BEHIND AS TROOPS LEAVE AFGHANISTAN
The remarks out of the United Kingdom come several hours after the Defense Department released an image of what it described as the “last American soldier to leave Afghanistan” as U.S. forces withdrew from the country ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline.
The U.K. wound down its presence and evacuation efforts from Kabul last week along with several other U.S. allies, marking the country’s complete return to Taliban oversight after having a Western democratic partnership for two decades.
Biden has stated the Taliban are “not good guys” despite the U.S. being forced to work with the militant group to facilitate the evacuation of U.S. citizens and eligible Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Aug. 15 it is in the “self-interest” of the Taliban not to harbor terrorist groups that wish to do harm to the U.S., adding, “They know what happened the last time they harbored a terrorist group that attacked the United States. It’s not in their self-interest to allow a repeat of that.”
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National security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan on Aug. 17, claiming that it is “premature” to make that assessment.
