DOHA, Sept 8 (NNN-QNA) – The United States and Qatar, yesterday urged the Afghan Taliban, to live up to its commitment to facilitate the evacuations from Afghanistan.
The appeal came at a joint press conference, by U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, with Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Khalid Al-Attiyah.
“We’ve been engaged with the Taliban, including in recent hours. They’ve said that they will let people with travel documents freely depart,” said Blinken.
“The international community is watching to see, if the Taliban will live up to their commitments,” he added.
Blinken also expressed his country’s thanks to Qatar, for its assistance to the U.S. evacuation operations in Afghanistan.
For his part, the Qatari foreign minister said, developments in the security and humanitarian situations in Afghanistan was a focus of the meetings between the U.S. and Jordanian officials, adding that, the ministers stressed the importance of continuing to open humanitarian pathways.
Regarding Kabul Airport, Sheikh Mohammed said that, no agreement had been reached with the Taliban, on the management and operation of the airport.
However, there are daily chartered flights to receive aid from other countries, to keep the humanitarian pathway open, and Qatar has facilitated the flights for UN officials to reach understandings with the Taliban, not to hinder their operations.
