PM plea for a deadline extension
BORIS Johnson will today plead with Joe Biden to extend the deadline for pulling US troops out of Kabul so more Afghans can be rescued from the city.
The Prime Minister is hosting a 90-minute virtual meeting of G7 leaders as the crisis continues to grip the airport following the Taliban’s march into the capital.
At the summit, Johnson is expected to urge Biden to keep American troops in the city after August 31 so the airlift can continue.
UK efforts to persuade NATO allies to stay and help the evacuation after US soldiers withdraw next Tuesday have failed.
A Taliban spokesman described the date as a “red line” and said if the deadline is broken there will be “consequences”.
Johnson said last night: “Our first priority is to complete the evacuation of our citizens and Afghans who have assisted our efforts over the last 20 years.
“With our allies, we will continue to use every humanitarian and diplomatic lever to safeguard human rights and protect gains made over the last two decades.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy said the meeting is a “test of the Prime Minister’s ability to bring together international partners, rise to the occasion and show leadership”.
No10 said discussions had been held with the Taliban but a spokesman insisted: “No firm date has been set in terms of when our evacuation procedure ends.”
In a call yesterday ahead of the summit, the leaders agreed to continue working together to ensure those who are eligible to leave are able to do so after the initial evacuation phase has ended.