Washington. August 23. INTERFAX-The United States maintains contacts with the Afghan Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) on a number of issues, but there is no talk of trust or formal relations, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing on Monday.
"We do not trust the Taliban in any way, there is no question of trust. This is about our interests and the interests of the Afghan people, and we are communicating with the Taliban on these issues. We do not ask them for any permission and do not establish any formal relations with them, we are only doing everything possible to facilitate the evacuation," he said.
"And the Taliban know that any obstruction of the evacuation of American citizens, any obstruction of our actions will be followed by a tough response," Price added.
Earlier on Monday, the US President's national Security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said at a briefing at the White House that the US administration maintains constant contacts with the Taliban on issues related to politics and security.
"We maintain contacts with the Taliban every day through political channels and in the field of security. I cannot provide details of these discussions, but they relate to a wide range of issues, " he said.
"We are discussing with the Taliban all aspects of what concerns Kabul - regarding what is happening at the airport, how to ensure travel to the airport for Americans and citizens of other countries," Sullivan said.
