The Taliban have pledged to let Americans and Afghans at risk still in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of American troops on August 31, said Wednesday evening the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken.
"The Taliban have made commitments in public and private to provide and allow safe passage for Americans, other foreigners, and Afghans at risk in the future after August 31," he said.
There are still around 1,500 Americans to be evacuated.
“The Taliban have made it clear that they have a strong interest in keeping an airport running.
We, and the rest of the international community have a strong interest in this, mainly to ensure that anyone who wants to leave (Afghanistan) can do so after 31 (August) using the airport, ”insisted Antony Blinken. .
The need for "valid documents"
Earlier, Germany had received assurances from the Taliban that Afghans could leave their country on commercial flights after August 31.
Deputy head of the Taliban political bureau in Qatar Sher Abbas Stanekzai "assured me that Afghans with valid documents will continue to be able to travel on commercial flights after August 31," Markus Potzel, a German diplomat negotiating with the Taliban after a meeting in Qatar.
Director Stanekzai assured me that Afghans with legal documents will continue to have the opportunity to travel on commercial flights after 31 August.
- Potzel Markus (@PotzelMarkus) August 25, 2021
The diplomat, Germany's special envoy to Afghanistan, said he had discussed “the urgent need” to have “a functioning Kabul airport” as a precondition for the work of NGOs and diplomats in Afghanistan.
Since the capture of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15, commercial flights have been interrupted.
"The Taliban are a reality in Afghanistan"
Faced with an ultimatum from the Taliban, US President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that the evacuations would be completed next week as thousands of Afghans have been massed since the Taliban took power at Kabul airport in the hope to be evacuated.
During a virtual summit with his G7 counterparts, the President of the United States therefore opposed an end of inadmissibility to the allies of Washington who insisted on an extension of the American military presence, in order to allow more time to the exfiltrations of Afghans deemed to be at risk in their own country since the seizure of power by the Taliban.
Earlier today, Angela Merkel ruled that the international community should continue "to dialogue with the Taliban" returned to power to preserve the gains made in Afghanistan since the deployment of NATO troops in 2001. "The international community must also discuss this with the Taliban, ”added the Chancellor, while the withdrawal of American troops must be completed on August 31.
"The Taliban are a reality in Afghanistan," she continued.
"This new reality is bitter but we have to face it."
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"We are not in favor of the idea of allowing the Afghans to leave", however, declared Tuesday the spokesman of the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid. The representative then added that it would be a "violation" of the agreement to allow the evacuation of foreign nationals beyond August 31 in a press conference attended by the BBC.