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Updated August 25th, 2021 at 06:22 IST

Afghanistan: EU's Ursula von der Leyen says G7 'committed to resettlement efforts'

Charles Michael, President of the European Council, on the situation at Kabul, said "Several leaders during G7 have expressed concern about the deadline."

Reported by: Srishti Goel
G7
Image: AP | Image:self
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Leaders of G7 countries agreed on Tuesday, 24 August, that it is their moral obligation to assist the Afghan people and provide as much assistance as situations allow. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the G7 leaders talked about evacuations, emergency humanitarian assistance, long-term development assistance, and scenarios for refugees in need of protection.

 

Ursula von der Leyen on G7

The EU Commission President said that "the recognition of Taliban is not on the table. However, the European Commission is committed to the Resettlement effort of internally displaced Afghans."

The Eurepean Commission President noted, "We @G7 leaders all agree that it is our moral duty to help the Afghan people & provide as much support as conditions allow. We discussed evacuations, immediate humanitarian aid, longer-term development aid and scenarios for refugees in need of protection."

She said, "I'm grateful that most of the EU’s staff including Afghan staff and their families have been evacuated from Afghanistan and are now safe. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of EU and the strong support from France, Italy, Belgium and Spain. We need to help those most at-risk - women, girls, children - and step up contributions to humanitarian aid. The EU_Commission will almost quadruple aid from the EU budget to meet the urgent needs of Afghans." 

Also, Charles Michael, President of the European Council, on the situation at Kabul airport, said "Several leaders during G7 have expressed concern about the deadline 31 August. It's important to try and extend the deadline."

Leaders' joint statement at G7

Meanwhile, European officials, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were unable to convince US President Joe Biden to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops beyond 31 August, with both Biden and the Taliban opposing the proposal. The Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan in recent weeks, as Western ally soldiers prepare to depart the nation after 20 years. G7 leaders voiced “grave concern about the situation in Afghanistan” in a joint statement.

"What we've done today at the G7, is we've got together the leading Western powers and agreed, not just a joint approach to dealing with the evacuation, but also a roadmap for the way in which we're going to engage with the Taliban, as it will probably be a Taliban government in Kabul," Johnson said.

(Image: AP)

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Published August 25th, 2021 at 06:22 IST

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