Germany's Scholz urged to normalize ties with the Taliban regime

Several Central Asian leaders urged Germany to normalize relations with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan at a summit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Germany has been critical of the hard-line Islamist Taliban group, and for two decades deployed combat troops to the country as part of a US-led war that drove the Taliban from power.

Scholz is in the Kazakh capital of Astana for a summit of five Central Asian countries. Afghanistan borders three of the countries: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Scholz was cautious in his comments about Afghanistan on Tuesday, referring in particular to the massive restrictions on women's rights imposed by the Taliban in the country.

"What is happening there is intolerable," said Scholz. "It is very clear to us that this government has come to power illegitimately and many developments are currently taking place in the country that are very depressing."

The Taliban seized Kabul and returned to power amid the chaotic withdrawal of the US-led Western forces in August 2021. The Western-supported Afghan government quickly collapsed.