Washington: The US has said it is looking at several “options” on its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan after the August 31 deadline. August 31 is the cut-off date set by both the US and the Taliban to withdraw from the US. war-torn country.
“With regard to our own possible presence after the 31st, we are considering a number of options,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said at a news conference on Wednesday. “I’m sure we’ll have more on that in the coming days and weeks, but we’re looking at a number of options,” he said after the withdrawal deadline, referring to America’s diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.
Over the next few days, Blinken said, America’s focus is on security for American citizens, other Afghan partners, third-country partners — who were working with the US in Afghanistan — and security out of Afghanistan. And for that purpose, “whether we like it or not”, it is important to work with the Taliban, who are “largely under Afghanistan’s control”, to try to facilitate and ensure the departure of all of them. For those who want to leave, said Blinken.
“And that’s really something we’ve been focused on from the very beginning of this operation, because as a practical matter it advances our interests,” he said. According to Blinken, the US has been diplomatically engaging with the Taliban for some time now, in efforts to advance a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.
There are still talks and negotiations going on between the Taliban and former members of the Afghan government, for example, regarding the transfer of power and some inclusivity in the future government. I think it’s in our best interest to support those efforts, he said. Going forward, Blinken said, the US will assess its engagement with any Taliban-led government in Afghanistan based on a simple proposition: America’s interests, “and whether or not it helps us advance them.” “.
“If engagement with the government can advance our enduring interests in fighting terrorism, it will be our enduring interest in trying to help Afghan people in need of humanitarian aid, in the enduring interest we want to see the rights of all Afghans If women and girls in particular are retained, we will do it, he said. But basically, the nature of that engagement and the nature of any relationship entirely depends on the actions and conduct of the Taliban, Blinken insisted.
If a future government upholds the basic rights of the Afghan people, if it fulfills its commitments to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against us and our allies and partners, Maybe, and in the first place, if they said it lived up to their commitments to allow people who want to leave Afghanistan, this is a government we can work with. If that doesn’t happen, we will make sure we use every appropriate tool at our disposal to isolate that government, and as I said earlier, Afghanistan will be a cripple, the top US diplomat said.
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