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Taliban promise not to hamper evacuation from Afghanistan — US Department of State

According to the statement, countries will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans

WASHINGTON, August 29. /TASS/. The Taliban (outlawed in Russia) have promised the United States and a number of other countries to allow all foreign citizens and Afghan nationals with travel authorization from foreign states to leave Afghanistan," according to a joint statement released by the US Department of State on Sunday.

"We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country," says the statement signed by the representatives of the European Union, NATO, and more than 90 nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Spain, Italy, Canada, the United States, France, and Sweden.

According to the statement, these countries will continue "issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans." "We have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries," it emphasizes.

After the Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that under the constitution, he becomes "the caretaker president" in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban.

The northern province of Panjshir is the only pocket of resistance to the Taliban. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once influential leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.

Western nations are in the process of evacuating their citizens and embassy staff.

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