On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres revealed a plan to start discussions for the appointment of a UN envoy to mediate relations between the Taliban and the international community.
During a press briefing, Guterres mentioned that the Taliban declined his invitation to attend the two-day international envoys' meeting on Afghanistan, which he arranged in Doha on February 18. The goal of the Doha discussion was to find a solution for the dire situation in Afghanistan as well as the international community's relationship with the Taliban.
Asif Durrani, the country's special envoy for Afghanistan, led Pakistan‘s delegation, where the government declared its support for the UN Special Envoy's appointment to Afghanistan. However, according to Islamabad, the UN special envoy ought to be a "Muslim, seasoned diplomat, and from the region."
The Taliban declined to participate in this summit because their requirements were unmet.
Guterres said during the presser that he had received a letter from the Taliban laying out requirements for their attendance at the meeting, which he considered undesirable. According to Guterres, “The conditions hampered UN diplomatic efforts because they, among other things, forbade talks with representatives of Afghanistan's civil society and required a degree of treatment equivalent to recognition.”
Diplomatic sources confirmed to The Media Line, “The Afghan Taliban also insisted that no one should criticize the group during this meeting or their governance since they took over in August 2021; the host UN did not guarantee them that.”
International diplomats weigh in on the Taliban's decision
On Monday, the Russian embassy in Kabul announced that its representatives would not attend the UN-headed meeting with members of Afghanistan's civil society in Doha. The embassy denounced the civil society activists' selection process, calling it "un-transparent" without Kabul's input.
The Taliban have agreed with Russia's decision to not participate in the summit, the embassy stated. The statement also emphasized Moscow's assessment that the Taliban's choice to skip the Doha meeting was a "logical" one.
Earlier, Feridun Hadi Sinirli Oglu, a former Turk ambassador and a UN Special Coordinator, issued a report recommending Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international economic and political system.
Oglu’s report urged that “The Afghan Taliban should be reintegrated into the international economic and political system if they fulfill their obligations. Still, the religious group has rejected repeated calls to form a 'comprehensive government.'"