G20 leaders agree to involve Taliban in distributing Afghanistan aid

Leaders agree in principle that funds can be channelled through UN agencies to avert humanitarian meltdown'

G20 leaders and ministers have agreed they will have no option but to involve the Taliban in sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, but say that this stops short of political recognition of the Taliban as a government.

The consensus view came at a video conference on the Afghan crisis at which the EU stepped up its aid to a total of 1bn (850m), and it was agreed in principle that the IMF and World Bank could provide aid. Nearly $9bn of Afghan assets in overseas banks have been frozen by the US.