The Taliban are lying, France's foreign minister says
PARIS
(Reuters) - The Taliban are lying and France will not have any
relationship with its newly-formed government, Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian said late on Saturday before heading for talks in
Qatar on Sunday to discuss future evacuations from Afghanistan.
“They
said they would let some foreigners and Afghans leave freely and
(talked) of an inclusive and representative government, but they are
lying,” Le Drian said on France 5 TV.
“France
refuses to recognise or have any type of relationship with this
government. We want actions from the Taliban and they will need some
economic breathing space and international relations. It’s up to them.”
Paris has evacuated about 3,000 people and had held technical talks with the Taliban to enable those departures.
Le
Drian, who is heading to the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, said there
were still a few French nationals and a few hundred Afghans with ties to
France remaining in Afghanistan.
