UNITED NATIONS - The United States has told the UN Security Council that the new Taliban office in Qatar must not be treated as an embassy.
“We do not recognize the name ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ and are pleased that Qatar has clarified that the name of the office is the Political Office of the Afghan Taliban, and has had the sign with the incorrect name in front of the door taken down,” US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Rosemary DiCarlo said during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday.
The Taliban held an opening ceremony Tuesday in which they hoisted their flag and a banner with the name they used while in power more than a decade ago: “Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
The U.S. envoy said, “We have underscored that the office must not be treated as, or represent itself as, an embassy or other office representing the Afghan Taliban as an emirate, government, or sovereign.” At the same time, she said that the US takes the opening of the Taliban office as “an important first step” for easing a political settlement. “While there may be bumps in the road, the fact that the parties have an opportunity to talk and discuss Afghanistan’s future is very important,” Ambassador Dicarlo said.
The Taliban move angered Afghan President Hamid Karzai who suspended security negotiations with the U.S. and scuttled a peace delegation to the Taliban on Wednesday. An Afghan government spokesman said Thursday that Karzai is now willing to join planned peace talks with the Taliban — provided that the Taliban flag and nameplate are removed from the Doha office and he receives a formal letter from the United States supporting the Afghan government.
Afghanistan’s U.N. Ambassador Zahir Tanin told the council that the Taliban’s “rather theatrical” inauguration of the Doha office contradicted the principles under which it was established — namely that it would be a venue for direct negotiations, that it would not serve as a Taliban “government, embassy, emirate or sovereign,” and that it would not engage in or support terrorism or violence.
Tanin said the public statement by the Taliban representative in Doha went “against the very spirit of peace” because it lacked a clear commitment to peace talks with the Afghan High Peace Council and made an explicit reference to the continuation of violence. DiCarlo recalled that Karzai and Obama called on Qatar in January to facilitate an office “for the purposes of negotiations between the Afghan High Peace Council and representatives of  Taliban.”
“The United States supports the opening of the Political Office of the Afghan Taliban for this purpose,” DiCarlo said. “We have underscored that the office must not be treated as, or represent itself as, an embassy or other office representing the Afghan Taliban as an emirate, government or sovereign.”
Pakistan UN Ambassador Masood Khan welcomed the opening of a Taliban office in Doha and the announcement of talks between the US, the Taliban and the Afghan Government.
“After several initiatives, this was surely a flicker of hope for peace in Afghanistan. Subsequently, problems arose. We hope that in the greater interest of Afghanistan, misgivings would be removed and tensions defused,” he said..  “This is a time for diplomacy and statesmanship. A compromise must be explored to move forward.”
The Pakistani envoy added, “We have urged an early end to the war. The conflict in Afghanistan can only be resolved through a negotiated settlement.”