Germany to end $504m annual aid to Afghanistan if Taliban take power

Germany said Thursday that it would stop sending financial support to Afghanistan in the event that the Taliban succeeded in seizing power in the country.

Speaking to the German broadcaster ZDF, foreign minister Heiko Maas said the Taliban know that Afghanistan cannot survive without international aid.

"We will not send another cent to this country (Afghanistan) if the Taliban take complete control, introduce Sharia law and turn it into a caliphate," Maas said.

Germany sends Afghanistan 430 million euros ($504 million) in aid a year, making it one of the biggest donors to the strife-hit nation.

Since international troops began their withdrawal from Afghanistan in May, the Taliban have taken control of large swathes of territory.

Most recently, the Taliban seized the provincial capital Ghazni, 150 kilometres from the capital Kabul.

Maas referred back to the decision of the United States to withdraw from the country, when asked about the gains made by Taliban insurgents in the country.

"This meant that all NATO forces had to leave the country as well, because without American capabilities... no one country can send their soldiers there safely," Maas said.

Germany's government had considered the idea of a longer mission in Afghanistan but "could not act outside of NATO", Maas said.

German soldiers were deployed as part of a NATO force in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years until June.