WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Tuesday that any greater relationship with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers was contingent on improving treatment of women, two years after the movement toppled the US-backed government.
No country has recognized the Taliban government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over what critics call a return to "gender apartheid," with women and girls squeezed out of schools and public spaces.
"We continue to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the many commitments that it's made and not fulfilled, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls," Blinken told reporters.
New US restrictions against Taliban for bans on women
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
The Taliban quickly stormed back to power after President Joe Biden withdrew US troops, ending America's longest war.
The Biden administration did not mark the anniversary, but Blinken, responding to a question, defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said.
"We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
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