G20 leaders' decision at a summit on Tuesday to task the UN with coordinating an international aid response for Afghanistan shows the world's major economies agree on the Taliban-ruled country for the first time, according to Italy's premier Mario Draghi.
"Multilateralism is coming back, with difficulty, but it is coming back," Draghi told reporters in Rome after the virtual G20 summit on Afghanistan which he convened and chaired.
The Taliban are essential interlocutors for an "effective" response to the grave humanitarian emergency engulfing Afghanistan, but recognising them would be premature, Draghi argued.
"Tackling the humanitarian crisis requires contact with the Taliban, but this does not mean recognising them," Draghi stated.
"This will only happen when the international community reports that progress has been made on freedom, human rights, the condition of women...it is too early for any form of recognition - we must wait."
"The Taliban must be judged on what they do, not what they say," Draghi underlined.
