Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that his country would not recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister of Canada explained that the seizure of power by the Taliban was the reason for Canada’s non-recognition of its government, IRNA reported from Reuters.
He said: Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. They have taken over and overthrown a legitimate democratic government.
On Monday, the United States announced that it would recognize the Taliban government in Kabul only if it respected women’s rights and avoided terrorists.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a meeting of G7 leaders on Afghanistan, while EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said on Tuesday that the bloc should hold talks with the Taliban.
However, German Foreign Minister Haiku Moss said the West would judge the Taliban “on the basis of their actions”.
Over a 12-year period – Canada’s longest war – Canada has sent more than 40,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, along with the United States and other countries. A total of 158 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
In 2013, Ottawa added the Taliban to its list of banned terrorist organizations and outlawed any links to the group.