Trudeau says Canada has no plans to recognize Taliban as Afghan legitimate govt

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that his government has no plans to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

"Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. When they were in government 20 years ago, Canada did not recognize them," said Trudeau, who is currently campaigning for re-election after he launched the election on Sunday.

"Our focus right now is on getting people out of Afghanistan and the Taliban need to ensure free access to people to get to the airport," Trudeau said.

"We're working with our allies on what Canada as part of the international community can do to stabilize the situation, protect civilians, and put an end to the violence. This includes taking leadership by bringing Afghans to safety in Canada," he said.

Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday.

Two aircraft carrying diplomats, troops and Afghans from Kabul landed in Canada Monday night.

Tuesday morning, the Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that one flight landed in Toronto carrying Afghans who qualified to come to Canada under the government's recently announced special immigration measures for former interpreters and embassy staff who helped Canadians in Afghanistan.

The second flight landed in Ottawa and included returning staff from the Canadian embassy in Kabul.