WOOING THE WEST Taliban representatives arrive in Gardermoen, Norway on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 (January 23 in Manila), for talks with western representatives on human rights and emergency aid. No country has yet recognized the Taliban government and Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt stressed that the talks would "not represent a legitimization or recognition of the Taliban." A former UN representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, told AFP: "We can't keep distributing aid circumventing the Taliban." She told AFP she feared the talks would "normalize the Taliban and... strengthen them, while there is no way that they'll change." "Hosting a senior member of the Taliban casts doubt on Norway's global image as a country that cares for women's rights, when the Taliban has effectively instituted gender apartheid," he said.

Source: Manila Times January 24, 2022 06:29 UTC