The US has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster while refusing to give political recognition to the country's new Taliban rulers, the Taliban said Sunday.
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The statement came at the end of the first direct talks between the former foes since the chaotic withdrawal of US troops at the end of August.
The US statement was less definitive, saying only that the two sides "discussed the United States' provision of robust humanitarian assistance directly to the Afghan people."
The Taliban said the talks held in Doha, Qatar "went well," with Washington freeing up humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after agreeing not to link such assistance to formal recognition of the Taliban.
The United States made clear the talks were in no way a preamble to recognition of the Taliban, who swept into power Aug. 15 after the US-allied government collapsed.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called the discussions "candid and professional," with the US side reiterating that the Taliban will be judged on their actions, not only their words.
