The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is inching closer towards international recognition, said Amir Khan Muttaqi in an interview with AFP.

In his first interview since returning from talks with Western powers in Oslo, Muttaqi also urged Washington to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets to help ease the humanitarian crisis.

No country has formally recognised the government installed after the collapse of the former government in August as US-led forces withdrew following a 20-year occupation.

But Muttaqi told AFP late Wednesday that Afghanistan’s new rulers were slowly gaining international acceptance.

“On the process of getting recognition… we have come closer to that goal,” he said.

“That is our right, the right of the Afghans. We will continue our political struggle and efforts until we get our right.”

The talks in Norway last month were the first involving the IEA on Western soil in decades.

Muttaqi said his government was actively engaged with the international community — a clear indication, he insisted, of growing acceptance

“The international community wants to have interaction with us,” he said. “We have had good achievements in that.

Muttaqi said several countries were operating embassies in Kabul, with more expected to open soon.

“We expect that the embassies of some of the European and Arab countries will open too,” he said.

But Muttaqi said any concessions the IEA made in areas such as human rights would be on their terms and not as a result of international pressure.

“What we are doing in our country is not because we have to meet conditions, nor are we doing it under someone’s pressure,” he said.