White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Tuesday said he was unsure if the U.S. would ever recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.
While appearing on “The Mehdi Hasan Show,” Klain was asked by Hasan if the U.S. will be recognizing the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government anytime soon.
“I don’t think anytime soon. I don’t know if we will ever recognize their government,” Klain said.
“What we know is that the Taliban says they’re going to form a government, we’ll see what that looks like, we’ll see what kind of credentials they present. More importantly, we’ll see what their conduct is. Do they honor their commitments, to allow freedom of travel? Do they respect human rights?” Klain added.
“I think the question of recognizing a new government of Afghanistan is down the road here.”
The international community has refrained from recognizing the Taliban thus far, with many international nongovernmental organizations swiftly cutting off Afghanistan’s access to resources after the Taliban took control.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that the U.S could possibly recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government during an interview held shortly after Kabul fell.
“A future Afghan government that upholds the basic rights of its people and that doesn’t harbor terrorists is a government we can work with and recognize,” Blinken said while appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
However, on Monday, Blinken signaled that recognition would not come easily for the militant group.
“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our message is, any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned,” Blinken said.
“Going forward, any engagement with the Taliban-led government in Kabul will be driven by one thing only, our vital national interests,” he added. “Every step we take will be based not on what a Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments.”