German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Berlin must engage with the Taliban in order to help evacuate Afghans who worked for the country.
"We need to talk to the Taliban about how we can continue to get people who worked for Germany out of the country and to safety," Merkel told reporters on September 5.
She said it was also in Germany’s interest to support international aid organizations who are helping to improve the humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan. She called it a good signal that the airport in Kabul was reopened, allowing medical aid into the country again.
Many Western countries are reluctant about talking with the Taliban.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the European Union has no plans to recognize Afghanistan's new government, once announced, but that it will engage with the Taliban-led administration on an "operational" basis.
"In order to support the Afghan population, we will have to engage with the new government in Afghanistan, which doesn't mean recognition. It's an operational engagement," Borrell told a news conference on September 3.
