France talks with Taliban authorities on deportations, Digi Mart USA News: France has no intention of recognizing the Taliban authorities, the spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday, even as Paris resumes a technical dialogue aimed at expelling Afghans who are in the country illegally and considered a threat to national security.
“France does not recognize the Taliban and has no intention of doing so. This technical dialogue does not in any way mean recognition of the regime,” Pascal Confavreux said at a press briefing.
He also said there was “no Taliban delegation at the Afghan consulate in Paris today,” contrary to press reports suggesting otherwise.
In early October, AFP reported that Paris had begun “technical” discussions with the Taliban. A diplomatic source said those talks did not call into question France’s position on Afghanistan, which has not maintained diplomatic relations with the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021.
“We have initiated a technical dialogue with Afghanistan, with the current regime, for a very specific reason,” Confavreux said. “It is to be able to directly return Afghan nationals who are dangerous, who pose a threat to public order in France and who are here illegally.”
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had confirmed on Monday that “technical discussions” were underway between Paris and Taliban authorities during a hearing at the National Assembly.
