President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said France was holding preliminary discussions with the Taliban about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the possible evacuation of more people at risk following the August 15th Taliban takeover, reports FRANCE 24.
"We are in the process of holding discussions, which are still fragile and provisional, with the Taliban regarding humanitarian evacuations to repatriate Afghan men and women at risk,” said Macron.
Evacuations are planned jointly with Qatar and may involve "airlift operations", said Macron, adding that France had evacuated 2,834 people from Afghanistan since August 17th.
Qatar has good contacts with the Taliban since Doha hosts a Taliban political office that negotiated the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The disclosure came at news conference in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where Macron attended a regional security summit aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East and emphasising Iraq’s role as a mediator.
But the Afghanistan crisis overshadowed the French president’s news conference amid questions over US foreign commitments following its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters in Baghdad, Macron said France would continue to deploy troops in Iraq to battle terrorism even if the US were to withdraw from Iraq.
"No matter what choices the Americans make, we will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism," said Macron. "We have the operational capacity to ensure this presence," he said.
The meeting came as Iraq, long a casualty of jihadist militancy, also tries to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran.
"We all know that we must not lower our guard, because Daesh [the Islamic State group] remains a threat, and I know that the fight against these terrorist groups is a priority of your government," Macron said earlier after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
Iraq and France are "key partners in the war against terrorism", Kadhemi replied.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II flew in for the summit, also attended by the foreign ministers of regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also participated in the summit.
Oil-rich Iraq has been caught for years in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, Iran and the US.
Iran exerts major clout in Iraq through allied armed groups within the Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful state-sponsored paramilitary network.
Iraq has been brokering talks since April between Saudi Arabia and Iran aimed at mending ties severed in 2016.
"It was really not easy to put the Saudis and Iranians in the same room," a French diplomatic source said.
But an adviser to Kadhemi said that just the presence of the two foreign ministers together was itself a "success".
Macron aims to highlight France's role in the region and its determination to press the fight against terrorism, his office said.
The French president considers Iraq "essential" to stability in the troubled Middle East, it added.