G20 leaders and ministers have agreed they will have no option but to involve the Taliban in sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, but say that this stops short of political recognition of the Taliban as a government.
The consensus view came at a video conference on the Afghan crisis at which the EU stepped up its aid to a total of €1bn (£850m), and it was agreed in principle that the IMF and World Bank could provide aid. Nearly $9bn of Afghan assets in overseas banks have been frozen by the US.
Aid agencies such as the International Rescue Committee say Afghanistan is on the verge of “a humanitarian meltdown” since it has been 75% dependent on foreign aid to survive – and support has dried up since the Taliban seized power in August.
