Special G7 Summit on Afghan Refugees
The leaders of the G7 industrialized nations will hold an emergency video summit on Tuesday, August 24. The only topic under discussion will be the withdrawal of NATO coalition partners in Afghanistan and civil and human rights activists.
The leaders of seven major Western industrial nations are set to hold an emergency videoconference on Tuesday, August 24, to discuss their plans to relocate Afghan refugees from Kabul. The Group of Seven is made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Some critics say the vast scale of the Afghan issue requires that other major countries and Afghanistan’s neighbors also be included in the consultations and coordinated action.
Trudeau spoke about intensifying sanctions against the Taliban
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for more sanctions against the Taliban extremist Islamists a day before the G7 meeting: "We are considering more sanctions."
He said the Taliban is recognized as a terrorist organization in Canada, "but we will discuss next steps with our partners in the Group of Seven."
Canada began repatriating Afghans from Kabul last Thursday. The country recently said it would accept about 20,000 Afghan refugees under an immigration program.
Germany: Coordination of refugee transfers and assistance
According to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the country's government is currently in talks with the United States and Türkiye about continuing to operate Kabul Airport for civilian flights.
Maas said contacts have also been made with the Taliban. The United States has also not yet decided whether it will play a role in running Kabul airport from August 31.
The German foreign minister said in connection with the emergency meeting of the leaders of the G7 industrialized countries that it was necessary to clarify and coordinate how long people could be evacuated from Kabul. In addition, there should be consultations on humanitarian aid for refugees and how to deal with the "wave of migration".
NATO does not want to announce the end date of the deployment
NATO is not yet ready to give a specific date for the end of the evacuation of personnel from Afghanistan. A NATO spokesman said: “The situation at Kabul airport remains challenging and unpredictable.”
He said the Afghan withdrawal operation would continue in cooperation with allied forces. Dozens of planes are currently leaving Kabul airport daily. Further discussions will take place on the situation in Afghanistan at a special video summit of the Group of Seven leaders on Tuesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will also attend the meeting.
As things stand, the US plans to withdraw all of its military forces from Afghanistan by the end of this month, August 31. This means that the evacuation of foreign nationals and Afghans who are at risk will likely have to be completed by the end of this week.
US President Joe Biden has announced that the US government is consulting with the country's military about extending the deployment mission beyond the end of August.
Construction of a temporary US residence in Germany
About 4,000 of the people the US evacuated from Afghanistan are scheduled to be temporarily stationed at US bases in Germany in the states of Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate.
A spokesman for the US military in Europe confirmed to the German news agency that the necessary preparations have been made at the Grafenwoehr and Kaiserslautern bases. The refugees will remain there until their final place of residence is determined and they are transferred to these locations. In addition to housing and care, their medical needs will also be met.
Source: DW
