WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has taken control of the Afghan embassy in Washington and the country’s consulates in New York and Beverly Hills, California, the State Department said Tuesday.
The State Department said it assumed “sole responsibility” for the security and maintenance of the diplomatic missions that went into effect Monday and would deny entry to anyone without its consent until further notice.
The move came after the ministry determined at noon on May 16 that the embassy and consulates had “formally ceased conducting diplomatic and consular activities in the United States.”
The US does not recognize the new Taliban government in Afghanistan, which came to power last year after the withdrawal of US and allied troops, and has no formal diplomatic relations with the country.
“Until further notice, the Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions has assumed full responsibility for ensuring the protection and preservation of the properties of the referenced missions, including but not limited to all real and tangible property , furniture, records and financial assets of the Afghan embassy or its consular posts in the United States,” the department said in a statement to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.
The missions were identified as the Afghan embassy in Washington, and consular posts in Little Neck, New York, and Beverly Hills, California.
The ministry noted that Afghanistan had not asked any third country to serve as a “protective force” for its facilities or interests in the US. Since Washington closed its embassy in Kabul, Qatar has served as the US protective force in Afghanistan.
