Norway refuses to recognize Taliban government in Afghanistan: Foreign Minister

OSLO: FEB. 20 – Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said on Saturday that Oslo is not considering the recognition of the Taliban which is under UN sanctions for terrorism.

Huitfeldt spoke at the Munich security conference in the session “Afghan Aftershocks: From Ashes to Ashes?” “We are reluctant to recognize [the Taliban] and will not do that,” she said, reported Sputnik News Agency.

The Taliban’s swift ascension to power in Afghanistan occurred in mid-August, triggering economic disarray and a dire humanitarian crisis.

In early September, the Taliban leadership announced the composition of an interim government headed by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, a prominent member of the first Taliban government.

The restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was declared in December but has yet to garner desperately-needed international recognition, reported the news agency.

-ANI