Taliban Meet EU-US Delegation, Brussels Pledges 1 Bn Euros Aid

Taliban Meet EU-US Delegation, Brussels Pledges 1 Bn Euros Aid

The Taliban delegation sits down for talks in Qatar with EU and US envoys. (AFP)

The Taliban held their first face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation Tuesday in Qatar as Brussels pledged one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in aid for Afghanistan.

The hardline group is seeking recognition, as well as assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster, after it returned to power in August following the withdrawal of US troops.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU aid package, meant "to avert a major humanitarian and socio-economic collapse", at a virtual G20 summit hosted by Italy.

She stressed the funds are "direct support" for Afghans and would be channeled to international organizations working on the ground, not to the Taliban's interim government which Brussels does not recognize.

"We have been clear about our conditions for any engagement with the Afghan authorities, including on the respect of human rights," she said.

The Taliban badly need assistance as Afghanistan's economy is in a parlous state with most aid cut off even as winter nears, food prices rising and unemployment spiking.

EU countries are wary at the prospect of a surge of Afghan asylum-seekers trying to enter the bloc, as happened in 2015 with Syrians fleeing their