Talks between the United States and the Taliban continued earlier this week in Doha to discuss aid after the earthquake in Afghanistan, the State Department said Friday. After last month’s devastating earthquake, the Taliban are looking for a way to free up some of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are currently frozen by the US, which wants assurance that the money will go to help the population.
In a statement Friday, the State Department said that during meetings Wednesday and Thursday, the United States reaffirmed an earlier pledge to provide $55 million in aid for another quake.
White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said earlier that there were ongoing efforts to “pull money” out of the frozen reserves. This is about $3.5 billion of frozen reserves.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement Friday that “the two sides discussed in detail the U.S. actions” regarding $3.5 billion, money the White House said last week that the U.S. is “urgently” working to secure.
The United Nations has warned that half of the country is at risk of food shortages.
