France, Oct. 9 -- The French Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the discussions were strictly technical and did not amount to recognition of Afghanistan's Taliban government, which returned to power in August 2021.

The aim was to remove Afghan nationals who posed a threat to French public safety, ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said.

"This is an initiative to ensure the safety of the French people. It's a strictly technical dialogue to facilitate the removal of Afghan nationals who are in the country illegally and who pose a national security risk. These are dangerous people," he said.

A diplomatic source told AFP news agency on Wednesday that France had begun talks to facilitate deportations directly to Afghanistan. T...