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Turkmenistan provides airspace for evacuation flights from Afghanistan

Western countries are evacuating their nationals and embassy staff from Afghanistan since fighters from the Taliban radical militant group established full control over the Afghan capital on August 15

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. The Turkmen authorities have made a decision to provide the country’s airspace for the evacuation of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, the press office of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced on Thursday.

"As is known, some countries have started to evacuate their citizens located in Afghanistan. In this situation, fulfilling its international commitments, including those arising from international humanitarian law, Turkmenistan will provide its airspace for the carriage of these persons by the planes of foreign states," the statement says.

On August 15, fighters from the Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) entered Kabul without any resistance and established full control over the Afghan capital within several hours. President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani announced that he had stepped down to avoid bloodshed and fled the country.

In this situation, Afghanistan’s Vice President Amrullah Saleh declared himself as the country’s caretaker president, calling for armed resistance to the Taliban. Western countries are evacuating their nationals and embassy staff.