NUR-SULTAN. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan will closely monitor the actions of members of the Taliban radical movement (banned in Russia and Kazakhstan) in Afghanistan, and a decision on their recognition will depend on this, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
"This matter is delicate and requires caution. I've said more than once today that we'll closely monitor the actions of the Taliban movement, and everything depends on this," Tokayev said during a videoconference part of the Eastern Economic Forum's plenary session on Friday.
"But being realistic, we assert that the Taliban have come to power for a long time, and let's act based on this premise," he said.
"We've historically had trade relations with Afghanistan, and this is also a factor that would predetermine our attitude toward the regime," Tokayev said.
In deciding whether to recognize the Taliban or not, the UN resolutions outlawing this movement must be taken into account, he said.
"I'd like to add another circumstance, namely the two resolutions that the UN Security Council passed in 2003 and 2011, which outlawed this movement," Tokayev said.
"That is, if we approach the matter of recognizing the Taliban movement, we should give serious consideration to these two resolutions. And the role of the UN Security Council permanent members, Russia, China, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, is of decisive importance here. And I think we're returning to the UN platform again, which is very important," he said.