US President Joe Biden has agreed to the Pentagon's recommendation to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan on August 31, Reuters reports.
Thus, he stands by the plan and will not defy the Taliban, who earlier today said that they do not want to see more evacuations after that date.
The Pentagon's recommendation is based on a more uncertain security situation at the airport from which many are evacuated.
- There are high expectations for Biden to explain in detail the decision to stick to this tight schedule that few believe will be kept, says SVT's US correspondent Stefan Åsberg.
"Growing massive criticism"
At 6 pm on Tuesday, Biden was expected to give a speech in which he would give the message himself, but hours later the outside world is still waiting to hear him.
However, reactions have already been aroused before he has personally had time to publish the announcement due to how the United States ended its operation in Afghanistan.
- There is growing massive criticism of Biden.
He has marketed himself as a president with extensive foreign policy experience, that he should be a tactician, this gives a completely different picture, says Stefan Åsberg.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says no deadline extensions will be accepted.
According to the spokesperson, everything is going back to normal in the country, except the chaos at the airport, which is a problem.
Earlier, there were also reports that CIA chief William Burns had met with Taliban political leader Abdul Ghani Baradar.
According to the source, the meeting was about the evacuations at Kabul airport.
No further details about the meeting have been released.