WASHINGTON, August 30. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss the further coordinated actions in Afghanistan with the representatives of NATO, the EU and the colleagues from a number of countries on Monday, August 30, the agency’s press service reported on Sunday.
The representatives of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, Turkey and Qatar "will discuss an·aligned·approach for the days and weeks ahead." Later on Monday, Blinken intends to deliver remarks on "the way forward" with regards to Afghanistan.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban 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 announced that, in the absence of the head of state, the constitution empowered him to become the caretaker president and urged the Afghan people to join the resistance against the Taliban. The armed resistance in the country’s Panjshir Province is led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of renowned guerilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001). At present, Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy staff.