Boris Johnson is expected to use a meeting with world leaders to follow up on the UK Government’s push for U.S. President Joe Biden to extend the Kabul evacuation deadline, Press Association has reported.
According to multiple reports the prime minister will use an emergency G7 summit on Tuesday to lobby the president on the issue.
In a tweet, Johnson said: “I will convene G7 leaders on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan. It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.”
Over the weekend, the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary held talks with their Washington counterparts, expressing their desire for US troops to remain in Afghanistan. They hope to encourage the troops to remain beyond the August 31 deadline in order to secure Kabul’s airport for repatriation flights.
However, the President has made it clear he does not want US armed forces to remain in the country beyond the set deadline.
James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister, told BBC Radio four that the Government would continue to push for troops to remain.
He said: “Obviously the more time that we’ve got, the more people we can evacuate and that’s what we’re pushing for”
During a press conference Biden said: “Our hope is that we don’t have to extend but there are discussions going on about how far we are.”
The Government have said there isn’t a set date for the UK to withdraw, however once US troops have been pulled it is worried that the remaining forces would not be able to secure the capital’s airport.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that 5,725 people have been repatriated since rescue efforts began on August 13, with 3,100 of them Afghan individuals and their families.
Brigadier Dan Blachford who is the most senior UK military officer on the ground in Kabul described the scenes as “harrowing”. It has been reported that as many as 20 people have been killed while trying to get to departure points at the airport.
He said: “The horrific difficulties which families and individuals have in getting to the airport are clear and my men and women on the frontline have seen and witnessed some harrowing scenes.”
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