The White House continued to defend a careful line on the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) after cooperating with them during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that sanctions relief for the new regime was not under consideration.
The White House has persistently tried to push back on that line. “No one is discussing the reduction of sanctions on the Taliban,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at Thursday’s briefing. “We are going to judge the Taliban by their actions. ... Now, at the same time, we want to make sure there is assistance to the Afghan people."
Psaki has also said from the podium at the White House that while the Biden administration has had to deal with the Taliban because they control most of Afghanistan, that does not mean they have revised their view of the Islamic extremists who ruled the country before the post-9/11 American invasion in 2001, Washington Examiner reported.
"That doesn't mean we think the Taliban are good actors,” Psaki said Wednesday. “We don't."
