Olis Johnson It is expected that meetings with world leaders will be used to follow up on the British government’s promotion of the United States President Joe Biden Extend the evacuation period from Kabul.
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Dominique Raab and Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace Meetings with Washington counterparts were held over the weekend to emphasize the desire of the US military to remain in Afghanistan after August 31, in order to continue to ensure the safety of repatriation flights at the Capital Airport.
According to multiple reports, the Prime Minister will use the G7 emergency summit on Tuesday to personally lobby Biden on this issue.
In a tweet, he said that “it is vital that the international community work together to ensure safe evacuation.”
Foreign Minister James Cleverley told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour program that the government will continue its efforts to persuade the incumbents of the White House to extend the deadline for withdrawal.
“Obviously, we have more time and we can evacuate more people, which is what we are pushing,” Mr. Cleverly said.
But the president said on Sunday that he does not want the U.S. armed forces to remain in the Central Asian country after August.
When asked about the postponement of the U.S. troop withdrawal at the press conference, Mr. Biden said: “We hope that we do not have to extend the troop withdrawal, but we are discussing how far we can go.”
Mr. Labour Party Leader Kyle Starmer Has written to the Prime Minister, calling for more information on how the UK will plan the next phase of the rescue mission.
Sir Keele asked whether Mr. Johnson had “personally talked with President Biden” to “request him to extend the evacuation period beyond the end of August” and whether the United Kingdom was developing contingency plans with NATO allies to “control without the United States” Kabul Airport”. army”.
Government officials stated that there is “no fixed date” when the UK will withdraw its troops, but worry that without the presence of US troops, the remaining allied forces will not be able to protect Hamid Karzai International Airport or other potential security from the crowd hoping to escape the Taliban’s takeover. threat.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that 5,725 people have been repatriated since the rescue work began on August 13, of which 3,100 were Afghans and their families.
On Sunday, the Royal Air Force airlifted 1,721 people from Kabul on eight flights.
Brigadier General Dan Branchford, the most senior British officer in Kabul, said that the British army had “worn some distressing scenes” and at least seven Afghan civilians were confirmed to have died in the chaotic crowd outside the airport gate.
According to reports, as many as 20 people were killed while trying to enter the starting point in the past week.
Brigadier General Blanchford, Commander of Joint Force Operations, said: “The terrible difficulties that families and individuals encounter when they arrive at the airport are obvious. The men and women on the frontline have seen and witnessed some distressing scenes.”
Brigadier General Blanchford added that he was “proud” of the work of the Kabul Armed Forces and that “they showed professionalism and compassion in a challenging environment.”
He said that the British Armed Forces are “doubling down” their efforts to “speed up the process of helping people evacuate.” The Times reported that the Royal Air Force hopes to fly as many as 2,000 people every day.
The newspaper also stated that the military will extend the deadline for the last evacuation of the Royal Air Force from Tuesday to Friday or Saturday, and the evacuation plan will be expanded from 6,000 eligible to come to the UK to more than 12,000.
