'A fantasy' to think U.N. can fix Afghanistan, Guterres says

FILE PHOTO: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during an aid conference for Afghanistan at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said any suggestion the world body can solve Afghanistan's problems is "a fantasy" and that its capacity to mediate for a more inclusive Taliban government is limited.

Asked in an interview with Reuters a month after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan from a Western-backed government whether he felt pressure to repair the country's plight, Guterres said: "I think there is an expectation that is unfounded" of U.N. influence as the main international organization still on the ground there.