Evacuation operations from Afghanistan are proceeding rapidly, with many countries striving to hasten the departure of their nationals or Afghans who assisted them, fearing a worsening situation or increased risks of attacks, especially with the Taliban setting August 31 as the deadline for completing these operations.
On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it will use four military transport aircraft to evacuate over 500 citizens from Afghanistan. The Russian news agency "Interfax" reported that the Ministry of Defense stated in a statement that "Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu organized on August 25, based on an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the evacuation of more than 500 citizens of the Russian Federation and member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Uzbekistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), and Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Afghanistan using military transport aircraft."
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced the evacuation of "the vast majority" of British citizens from Afghanistan. French Minister for European Affairs Clément Beaune stated that France is "very likely" to complete its evacuation of citizens and partners from Afghanistan by Thursday. In statements to "C News" on Wednesday, he noted the need for a new immigration agreement between the European Union and Britain.
U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that the United States is "accelerating its efforts" to complete evacuation operations from Afghanistan by August 31, pointing out that it has "kept the door open to extend that deadline." He emphasized that "reaching this goal depends on the cooperation of the new governors of Afghanistan, who belong to the Taliban." The Taliban had previously stated that all foreign evacuation operations must be completed by August 31 and urged Washington to "stop urging highly skilled Afghans to leave the country."
In remarks from the White House, Biden stated that the U.S. is racing against time to meet that deadline, amid growing concerns about the likelihood of terrorist attacks. He continued: "The sooner we can complete it, the better... Every day of operations brings additional risks to our forces." The U.S. President also requested that the Department of Defense, "the Pentagon," and the State Department prepare "contingency plans" to deal with exceeding the August 31 deadline if necessary. He mentioned that his administration is "working to rebuild a refugee system that was deliberately destroyed" by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. He added: "We all must work together to ultimately resettle thousands of qualified Afghans for refugee status. The United States will do its part."
Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries, which include Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, held an online meeting to discuss how to complete the chaotic withdrawal and deal with the Taliban after its seizure of power. They stated that they would remain "committed" to Afghanistan and would support the United Nations in coordinating immediate humanitarian aid in the region, which is facing a new influx of refugees. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reported that the discussions did not yield "new deadlines" for the end of the evacuation mission, although there were intensive discussions about whether an airport run by civilians in Kabul could be used after August 31.
The British Prime Minister indicated that the G7 approved a plan for dealing with the Taliban, with the first condition being that the armed group allows safe passage for Afghans wishing to leave the country even after August 31. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that the Kremlin is prepared to mediate in resolving the crisis in Afghanistan, alongside China, the United States, and Pakistan.
The Afghan government, which was supported by the United States, collapsed as Washington and its allies withdrew their forces after twenty years following the removal of the Taliban in the weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, which were carried out by the extremist group al-Qaeda that found safe haven in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
