In an interview with The New York Times, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Taliban consider the period of war to be over and want to establish a new relationship with the United States.
“We consider the chapter of war to be over, and now we want relations based on mutual respect and a new chapter of positive engagement,” Muttaqi told the NYT in Kabul.
According to Muttaqi, the United States could reopen its embassy in Kabul, restore its diplomatic presence and invest in Afghanistan, particularly in the country’s mineral resources, dams and infrastructure.
The offer of investment in Afghanistan’s mineral wealth appears to be an attempt to appeal to the administration of President Donald Trump. Afghanistan possesses significant untapped reserves of lithium, copper, iron and rare minerals, while Muttaqi described Trump’s approach as pragmatic and focused on economic deals.
However, The New York Times reports that normalizing relations remains extremely difficult. The U.S. State Department has said that the Taliban have failed to fulfill their commitments to combat terrorism and that Washington engages with the group only when doing so serves the interests of the American people.
The Taliban’s policies toward women and girls remain another major obstacle. Girls continue to be banned from secondary education, while Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity related to the persecution of Afghan women and girls.
Despite their isolation from the West, the Taliban have expanded relations with other countries. According to the NYT, Kabul has signed a defense partnership with Russia over the past year, dozens of trade agreements with Central Asian countries, and is also engaging with European states over the return of Afghan migrants.
But Muttaqi made clear that one issue remains off the table: the return of the U.S. military.
“No Afghan wants, and no Afghan can tolerate, the military presence of another country on Afghan soil, as history has demonstrated,” he told The New York Times.
