US confirms plan to transfer $3.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets to a Swiss-based trust, days after TRT World reported the upcoming release of frozen funds in an exclusive news article
Taliban says it is open to a US proposal for third-party supervision but wants to retain authority over how it is used.
The decision comes after talks between the Taliban and the United States failed to convince President Joe Biden's administration that it should hand over assets frozen when the Taliban returned to power 13 months ago, despite the dire humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. "Until these conditions are met, sending assets to DAB would place them at unacceptable risk and jeopardize them as a source of support for the Afghan people," he wrote in a letter obtained by the AFP news agency.
The United States expects the bulk of the reserves to be preserved and "responsibly managed" until the situation changes, a senior official said. Biden in February said that half of the assets would be made available to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban, who had given sanctuary to Al Qaeda.
The new fund will not go to assistance. In a statement, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said that the United States has contributed $814 million in humanitarian aid since the Taliban takeover, channeled through international agencies and aid groups and not given to the Taliban.