MOSCOW ,Aug 23,2021: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push US President Joe Biden during Tuesday’s G7 virtual meeting to delay the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, The Telegraph reports.
“The main focus of the G7 is on the long-term of Afghanistan but they will of course be discussing the current evacuation effort”, a Downing Street source told the newspaper on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, Johnson announced that the leaders of the G7 countries will have urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan on 24 August. Later on Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Biden’s participation in the virtual meeting, adding that the talks will revolve around the issue of the evacuation of Americans and “vulnerable” Afghans and humanitarian assistance for refugees.
According to The Telegraph, British ministers have been pressing the US privately for days to consider delaying the withdrawal of troops in order to ease pressure on the Kabul Airport. Biden told reporters on Sunday that discussions were underway with American military officials about possibly extending the Afghanistan evacuation mission beyond the 31 August deadline.
