We are grateful to Qatar and we wish to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban

In an interview with Al Jazeera the British Foreign Secretary: We are grateful to Qatar and we wish to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban

British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said - in an interview with AJ News - that his country wants to keep channels of communication open with the Taliban, expressing gratitude to the State of Qatar for its assistance.

"We have a new Chargé d'Affairs in Afghanistan who is based here in Qatar, we are grateful for the Qatari authorities' assistance with this, and we want to be able to engage directly with them when it is safe to do so," Raab added.

And the minister expressed his hope to maintain a diplomatic presence there, because Britain wants to keep the talks going. "There are real early tests of the Taliban taking place, and we want to be able to communicate with them to see if they will honor their commitments," he said.

In the same context, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office said today that the British envoy "confirmed his country's readiness to cooperate with us in the future," adding, "We discussed with him in Doha the issue of aid and political and security files."

Qatari Foreign Minister (right) and his British counterpart during a press conference yesterday in Doha

Several issues

In his interview with Al Jazeera, Raab said that he discussed several issues yesterday, Thursday in Doha, with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, including providing safe passage for foreigners and Afghans, and how to provide an international consensus so that Afghanistan does not become base for terrorism.

Raab reiterated his gratitude to the State of Qatar for its assistance in facilitating diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan from Doha, adding in this regard, "Our Qatari friends have done an amazing job, both in assisting with the evacuations, and as an important talking point with the Taliban Political Committee."

In response to a question about whether China and Russia abstained on a resolution drafted by the United Kingdom and France, issued by the Security Council on Monday, calling on the Taliban to allow people to leave the country and not allow it to become a base for terrorism, Raab called on Moscow and Beijing to engage more broadly with international partners, to maintain On what he called the gains made in 20 years.