France to be 'especially careful' about Taliban's links with terror groups: Macron

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - France will be "especially careful" about the Taliban's relationships with terrorist organizations, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.

"This is for our safety," Macron said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before his one-on-one meeting with her at the Elysee Palace.

Noting that they would discuss the international agenda and the situation in Afghanistan, Macron said they would make efforts to support neighboring countries that host Afghans.

Ensuring that people under threat in Afghanistan leave the country and that humanitarian aid is delivered to Afghanistan were also on the meeting’s agenda, he added.

Macron emphasized that he would also discuss the Sahel, Libya, Iran, Ukraine and Belarus with Merkel.

Merkel said the issue in Afghanistan is the people who are under threat and the evacuation of refugees from the country.

Expressing that it is important to provide support to neighboring countries that help Afghans, Merkel also underlined that they will work on how to make progress on climate change by preserving the industrial base.

She said developments concerning China, the US and the Indo-Pacific region would also be discussed during the meeting.