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News > Afghanistan

UN Security Council To Hold a Session on Afghanistan on Monday

  • UK military personnel board an RAF Voyager aircraft to travel to Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2021.

    UK military personnel board an RAF Voyager aircraft to travel to Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 15 August 2021
Opinion

Many Western countries have started the withdrawal of their diplomatic and civilian personnel.

On Sunday, the Norwegian and Estonian delegation to the United Nations (UN) called for an urgent meeting of the Security Council (UNSC) to debate the situation in Afghanistan. 

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Afghanistan: Taliban Forces Occupy Kabul as the President Flees

The meeting will take place on Monday morning with the attendance of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who last Friday called on the Taliban to stop fighting and start a dialogue with the government.

"The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: taking power by military force is a lose-lose proposition. It can only lead to a long civil war or Afghanistan's total isolation," Guterres added.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) spokesman Peter Stano called on all Afghan political actors to avoid a bloodbath and added that the EU will wait for the results of the current negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan authorities.

Many Western countries, mainly those involved with troops on the ground in the last 20 years have started to withdraw their diplomatic and civilian personnel.

United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Canada, together with Saudi Arabia, have ordered the repatriation of their diplomatic staff and their Afghan collaborators.

Some of their diplomats have moved to Kabul airport to keep operating safely under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military protection. However, the US embassy warned its nationals not to go to the airport since skirmishes are taking place nearby the facility.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the international community not to recognize the Taliban government since it would rather be a multilateral decision led by the UN.

He also said to be working to avoid that Afghanistan becomes the shelter of regional terrorist groups, something that will destabilize the region even more.

Meanwhile, the German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer admitted that what happened in Afghanistan was a disaster and warned about the imminent migratory wave that will follow these events.

United States' stance on the issue

In a failed attempt to release the U.S. from its responsibilities in the destabilization of the Central Asian nation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed the Afghan government and the security forces for surrender the country to Taliban forces.

"One more year or five more years of U.S. military presence would not have made any difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not maintain control of its own country," said Biden, who is under Republicans' attack due to his last month's statements about the "little probabilities of Taliban's success."

The United States sent back 4.000 troops to rescue their personnel and is holding positions at Kabul Airport. Nevertheless, the evacuation seems to be complicated since many of its collaborators may not reach the airport due to the Taliban's control over the capital city.

Russia speaks out loud

The Vice-Chairman of the Russian Duma's Defence Committee Yuri Shvitkin said his country has not the intention to remove Taliban forces from the list of Banned Terrorist Organizations.

Shvitkin noted that an action like that would legitimize terrorist organizations while adding that any dialogue must be under UN supervision.

Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov denied any possibility of Russian military intervention in Afghanistan, but assured that his country will fulfill its commitments with its Collective Security Treaty Organization's allies, which have increased military presence in the Afghan border.

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