FM: Islamic Emirate Seeks to Normalize Relations With US
Five years after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Kabul says it is willing to open a new chapter in relations with Washington.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, told Japan’s Kyodo News that Kabul is seeking to normalize relations with the United States and that the two sides can engage on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate, said: “We are seeking to normalize relations with the United States. The two sides can engage on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests. Recognition is an issue for the next stage.”
Dawood Shiraz, a political analyst, said: “Establishing relations between the United States and Afghanistan is not impossible, because the United States needs us and needs this land. The United States has lost something, and keeping Afghanistan isolated is harmful to them. Establishing these relations also has particular benefits for us.”
Muttaqi also called on the United States to reconsider its position toward the Islamic Emirate in light of Afghanistan’s current circumstances.
In another part of his remarks, the foreign minister described relations between Afghanistan and Japan as historic and close and called for the resumption of operations at the Afghan Embassy in Tokyo.
Aziz Maarij, an international relations analyst, said: “Japan is a manufacturing and industrial country and has good relations with both the Eastern and Western blocs. It has always provided unconditional assistance to Afghanistan and has had no political agenda or intention to interfere in Afghanistan.”
Regarding relations with Moscow, Muttaqi said that the military and technical cooperation agreement with Russia is intended for the repair and maintenance of Russian-made weapons and is not directed against any particular country.
Akhtar Rasekh, a political analyst, said: “The closer we get to Moscow, the more Western intelligence interference, carried out through Pakistan’s intelligence services, will materialize in Afghanistan, once again exposing Afghanistan to proxy wars driven by the agendas of the West and Pakistan’s ISI.”
Russia is so far the only country to have formally recognized the Islamic Emirate, while Kabul is also seeking to expand engagement with the United States, Japan, and other countries.
