Ruptly
"European Commission (EC) chief spokesperson Paula Pinho dodged the question on the European Union (EU) presumably avoiding direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday. "Given that you're talking to the Taliban in Afghanistan and with the former head of Al-Qaeda in Syria, are you planning to talk with Vladimir Putin as well?" asked the reporter. "One question and one issue has nothing to do with the other, if I may," Pinho replied. It comes as the bloc plans to invite representatives of Afghanistan's Taliban government to Brussels for the first official visit. According to the EC spokesperson Markus Lammert, 'technical-level' meeting comes in response to a request from EU member states. "These technical level contacts come in response to an initiative by 20 member states and Schengen-associated countries in October last year," Lammert noted. "They (EU ministers) want to focus on is the return of persons who, of course, have no right to stay in the Union and who pose a security threat. So this is mainly about persons who pose a security threat." The EC did not provide the date of the meeting or other details such as 'who will pay the flights and hotels for the Taliban delegation'. "We're not at this stage yet. We are now enquiring about the availability for a meeting here in Brussels," the EC spokesperson commented. The EU-Taliban talks in Brussels follow a trip by European officials in Kabul last January. Afghans remain one of the largest groups seeking asylum in the European Union. Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, applications peaked at around 129,000 in 2022 and exceeded 100,000 in 2023."
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