"If it was up to me, no", Locsin said on Friday when asked by Sputnik whether the Philippines would recognise the Taliban.
At the same time, the diplomat noted that the Philippines is set to welcome additional refugees from Afghanistan.
"Yes, we are committed to accepting more", Locsin said on Friday when asked whether the Philippines is prepared to accept refugees from Afghanistan. "We already took in [Afghan refugees working] for the Asian Development Bank, the Afghan national employees. We took them in. We couldn't get them all in because it was hard to get them out of their homes with safety. I cannot mention how many. It was quite a substantial amount of a number of families."
The Taliban* previously stated it would appoint new ambassadors to countries that officially recognise the new Afghan Cabinet. However, no country has recognised the Taliban government so far.
The militants took over Afghanistan last month, seizing most of the provinces and finally entering Kabul amid the US troop withdrawal. After capturing all provinces in September, the movement appointed an interim government of Afghanistan. It is headed by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who served as foreign minister during the first Taliban rule.
* The Taliban is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries