The ruling Taliban say the United States has agreed to provide humanitarianaid to Afghanistan.
The Taliban statement came at the end of their first direct talks in Qatarsince US troops left Afghanistan in August this year.
Besides aid, the talks focused on containing the extremist groups andevacuation of the US citizens.
US officials described the discussions as candid and professional, butadded that the Taliban would be judged by their actions.
The US insisted the meeting did not amount to recognition of the Taliban.
In a statement issued on Sunday night, the Taliban said: “USrepresentatives stated that they will give humanitarian assistance toAfghans and will provide facilities for other humanitarian organisations todeliver aid.”
It added that the Taliban would “co-operate with charitable groups indelivering the humanitarian assistance to those deserving transparently,and will facilitate the principled movement of foreign nationals”.
However, the US has yet to formally confirm the Taliban’s claim on aid.
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Spokesperson Ned Price said that the two sides had discussed the provision”of robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people,” withoutproviding further details.
“The US delegation focused on security and terrorism concerns and safepassage for US citizens, other foreign nationals and our Afghan partners,as well as human rights, including the meaningful participation of womenand girls in all aspects of Afghan society”, he said.
The talks were held as Afghanistan faces what aid workers fear is a severehumanitarian crisis.
At the Qatar meeting, the Taliban ruled out co-operation with Washington ontackling the activities of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-K).
The Taliban’s spokesperson in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, said they were able totackle the threat independently.
The foreign ministry in Kabul welcomed the US offer of humanitarianassistance and said local authorities would facilitate delivery andcooperate with aid groups.
