Turkey ready to help Afghanistan, but won't recognise Taliban government

Turkey said on Thursday that it was ready to help the Taliban so that Afghanistan overcame humanitarian crisis but it would not recognise the government. Turkey hosted the Taliban delegation for the first time. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu received his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Taliban is seeking to gain international recognition.

"We have told the international community about the importance of engagement with the current Taliban administration. In fact, recognition and engagement are two different things," Cavusoglu said. "The Afghan economy should not collapse. Therefore, we have said the countries that froze Afghanistan's accounts abroad should act more flexibly so that salaries can be paid."

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Turkish foreign minister met Taliban delegation in Ankara.

"We gave advice to the Taliban administration. We once again said they should be inclusive for the unity of the country. We talked about the importance of including people in the administration from ethnic groups other than the Taliban," Xinhua news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying

"We said this is not just a demand from Western countries, but also the advice of the Islamic world," Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

Meanwhile, the Taliban delegation asked Turkey to continue its support in humanitarian aid and development projects

The Taliban officials pledged to support the Afghan refugees who want to return to the country from Turkey, he said.

(With inputs from agencies)