Status: 01/23/2022 2:33 p.m
Taliban officials have traveled to Oslo to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. While Norway’s foreign minister wants to improve the situation of women, the Taliban are hoping for the start of a “positive relationship” with Europe.
Three-day talks with representatives of the radical Islamic Taliban on the situation in Afghanistan have begun in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The delegation was led by Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Amir Chan Muttaki. On the other hand, representatives of Norway, the EU, the US and other countries, as well as representatives of Afghan civil society – including women, journalists and human rights activists – take part in the meeting.
It is the first time that the Islamists have traveled to a western country with a delegation since they seized power in Afghanistan. According to information from the broadcaster NRK, the course of the first meeting will determine whether or not the Taliban will also speak to Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt during their visit. She had previously defended the invitation, arguing that the only way to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions was through dialogue. Her hope is that the situation for women in Afghanistan can be improved through diplomatic efforts. At the same time, she emphasized that the delegation’s visit represented “no legitimation for the Taliban”.
Before leaving for Oslo, Muttaki said he hoped the talks could be the start of a positive Taliban relationship with Europe. Muttaki was expected to call for the release of nearly $10 billion in US and other Western funds frozen abroad in the talks, citing the humanitarian situation in his country.
protests against the meeting
However, the meeting also met with international criticism. Afghans protested both in Oslo and in front of Norwegian embassies in London and Toronto, according to social media videos that were widely shared in the Afghan community. The demonstrators accused Norway of courting the Taliban and thus being on the wrong side. Also in Kabul, some women and girls protested in secret and shared a video of it.
In the past, Norway has repeatedly acted as a mediator in conflicts in other countries, most recently in Venezuela. The Scandinavian non-EU country has also been in dialogue with the Taliban for years. A Norwegian delegation traveled to Kabul over the past few days to discuss the difficult humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.