Eva Deschamps / August 18, 2021
Canada has no intention of recognizing a Taliban government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday as the international community questions future relations with the fundamentalist group that has regained power in Afghanistan.
When they were in power 20 years ago, Canada did not recognize their government. They forcibly overthrew and replaced a duly elected government, and are a terrorist group under Canadian law, he continued on the sidelines of a legislative campaign press briefing in Ontario.
The United States said Monday that it would only recognize a Taliban-led government if it respected women's rights and rejected terrorists.
And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called for a meeting of G7 leaders to adopt a unified approach to Afghanistan, including recognition of any future government.
Recalling that the immediate priority was given to evacuation operations out of Afghanistan, Mr. Trudeau said that the Taliban must guarantee free access to the airport.
We continue to work with our international allies to put pressure on them on this point, added the leader of the Liberal Party who said Monday horrified by the images of despair.
The evacuation of foreign nationals and Afghans who have worked with Westerners continued Tuesday under difficult conditions in Kabul. A huge airlift has mobilized since Sunday a noria of planes from all over the world, in an airport taken by storm by the candidates for exile and whose surroundings are closely controlled by the Taliban.
The Canadian government recently said it was prepared to accept 20,000 Afghan refugees under a new immigration program.