Afghanistan troop withdrawal: Biden remains at August 31

For the time being, the US is sticking to its goal of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by August 31. US President Joe Biden's spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday after the G7 heads of state and government went on video. The president had told his colleagues that, based on the current progress, the US operation could be ended on schedule by August 31, it said. He also asked the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for contingency plans in order to adjust the schedule if this should become necessary.

The completion of the operation also depends on the "ongoing coordination with the Taliban," including access to the airport for those who are to be evacuated, said Psaki. In the conversation, Biden also emphasized that the mission's risk was increasing every day in view of the increasing threat from a local branch of the Islamic State terrorist militia. A continuation of the evacuation flights of western states without the support of the USA is considered unthinkable.

The US government had recently emphasized again and again that efforts were made to complete the evacuation operation by August 31.

Biden had originally promised to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by that date.

In the meantime, he had not completely ruled out extending the evacuation mission - but at the same time insisted that this was not the intended goal.

The US military currently has around 5,800 soldiers at the airport in Kabul for evacuation missions.

"It would be very important that we can have a civil airport again as soon as possible"

The European allies in London, Paris and Berlin are pressing for a later withdrawal date, because this is the only way to continue the evacuation operation in its current form. There are still many thousands of people who want to leave the country because the Taliban came to power on the exit lists of the 26 participating nations. The militant Islamists, who now control almost all parts of the country and the capital Kabul, had made it clear that they would not accept a further presence of Western forces.

Chancellor Angela Merkel initially said after the G7 summit that the USA had not given a new date for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. “There are no new data today about the known date of August 31. (out) been named by the President of the United States of America, ”said Merkel on Tuesday in Berlin. "It would be very important that we can have a civil airport again as soon as possible," she added, referring to the need for relief supplies. They want to appear as uniformly as possible towards the Taliban. Accordingly, the G7 countries have decided to closely coordinate their policy towards the Taliban in the future. The Chancellor emphasized that it would not be possible to continue operating the airport in Kabul without the USA. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who holds the G7 presidency, said after the conference: “Our number one condition that we insist on is safe exit by August 31st and beyond for anyone wanting to leave Afghanistan . ”When asked whether the G7 representatives had expressed their displeasure to American President Joe Biden at his refusal to advocate an extension of the deadline, Johnson did not answer. He spoke of a "success of the evacuations so far" and stated that the G7 had agreed on a "road map" on how to deal with the Taliban.

The Taliban announced on Tuesday that they would no longer allow Afghan citizens to leave the country from Wednesday. An extension of the rescue flights beyond August 31 will not be approved. "From then on we will no longer allow Afghans to leave the country," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a press conference in Kabul. He called on the American government to stop encouraging Afghans to leave. The country needs engineers, doctors and soldiers. “We need the talent,” he said. "Instead of letting them work as workers in your system, let them work here as specialists."

At the same time, the Mujahid indicated that Afghans' access to Kabul airport would already be limited. The Taliban are trying to "reduce the rush" because there is a danger to life and limb in the crowd. Mujahid called on all Afghans willing to leave the country to go home and to work. “There is no danger to you.” Contrary to numerous reports of house searches by local staff and journalists, he assured that “nobody was being followed” and that there were “no lists” of wanted persons. When asked why many women are not allowed to do their jobs, Mujahid said, "There are security concerns and when we have them under control, our sisters can return to work."

According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, almost all German nationals have now been flown out. The focus is now on local Afghan workers. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that emergency aid will be increased to more than 200 million euros this year. The money should also be used to provide for people who are fleeing to neighboring countries, in particular Iran and Pakistan. A spokesman emphasized that aid was being distributed through the UN and other aid organizations and not going to the Taliban.