US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that Washington has differences with Moscow and Beijing over the issue of human rights in Afghanistan.

Addressing reporters at the Washington Foreign Press Center on UN Reform, Greenfield said that the US would consider human rights issues before recognizing an Islamic Emirate government.

According to her, the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan continues to worsen under the Islamic Emirate.

“We think we need to do more to hold them accountable, but also to push them to change,” she said.

Greenfield stated that the Islamic Emirate cannot continue to live in a world where “women are being sidelined in society, 50 percent of their population not contributing to their countries.”

“This is certainly a huge difference that we have with China and Russia, raising issues of human rights before we recognize a Taliban (IEA) government,” she said.

The US envoy also emphasized on the appointment of a special envoy of the United Nations for Afghanistan, an issue that the Islamic Emirate has opposed and Russia and China have also made their approval subject to the Islamic Emirate's consent.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov says Ashgabat has invested more than $1.5 billion in joint projects with Afghanistan.

At a meeting to provide information about the joint infrastructure projects of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, Meredov said that Turkmenistan intends to expand political, economic, commercial, transportation and transit relations with Afghanistan.

Meredov has also invited India, Pakistan, international banks and the Asian Development Bank to invest in the TAPI project.

“The government of Turkmenistan has invested more than 1.5 billion dollars in various projects with Afghanistan. Turkmenistan is determined to develop and expand political, economic, commercial, transportation and transit relations with Afghanistan as much as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, acting head of the Afghan embassy in Turkmenistan Fazl Mohammad Saber also said that the Islamic Emirate is determined to implement joint projects between the two countries.

“The opening of TAPI, TAP, fiber optics and railway lines, etc., is actually a sign of true friendship and brotherhood between the people of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, who have been living side by side in a good neighborly atmosphere for a long time,” said Saber.

“The people of Afghanistan welcome the successful implementation of these projects, and the Islamic Emirate is determined to implement them,” he added.

IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that currently, the economic relations between Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan are expanding.

In this meeting, the ambassadors of China, India, the head of the Asian Development Bank branch and the head of the UN representative also spoke and welcomed and praised the implementation of the mentioned projects.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday night he does not understand why the House Foreign Affairs Committee has taken the step to move to hold Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with a subpoena to attend a hearing on the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Last week House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for a full committee markup to find the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress.

In an announcement, McCaul said this was for “his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee on Tuesday, September 3rd.”

Blinken was requested on May 23, this year, to appear before Congress on September 19, 2024 regarding the committee’s recent report on the Afghanistan withdrawal.

However, he will not appear due to his current travel arrangements. The markup is now scheduled for Thursday, September 19.

Following a markup in the committee, the full House would need to vote to refer it to the Department of Justice for prosecution — a move unlikely to be carried out under the Biden administration, but that could be treated differently in a potential second Trump administration, The Hill reported.

Miller meanwhile said on Tuesday that Blinken has testified 14 times before Congress on Afghanistan.

“Four of those times have been before this committee, including one appearance that was exclusively focused on Afghanistan – that was the sole subject of the hearing.

“We cooperated with their investigation into the – Afghanistan, provided them with documents, provided them with witness interviews. And we have tried to accommodate their request for a hearing.

“They asked for a hearing this Thursday. Obviously the Secretary is traveling, trying to advance a ceasefire. He’s not able to be there because he’s doing important – the important business of the United States.

“But we’ve said we would make the deputy secretary available, and we have offered the Secretary to appear at a later date,” he said.

The report is highly critical of US President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US military forces from Afghanistan and accuses the administration of failing to plan for all contingencies.