Blinken says Taliban renew vow to let Afghans 'freely depart'

Top US and Qatar officials held a joint press conference in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan. AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the Taliban had reiterated a pledge to allow Afghans to freely depart Afghanistan following his meeting with Qatari officials on accelerating evacuations. The Taliban told the United States that "they will let people with travel documents freely depart," Blinken said. "We will hold them to that," he added. Blinken was speaking at a joint news conference in Doha with HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that Qatar hoped that Kabul airport would be up and running for passengers in the next few days, but that no agreement on how to run it had yet been reached. Qatar has been working with Turkey and the United States on restoring operations at Kabul airport. HE the Foreign Minister said the airport will require an upgrade in equipment. "The entire international community is looking to the Taliban to uphold that commitment," Blinken said, referring to a UN Security Council resolution that urged safe passage. Biden's senior cabinet members had dinner on arrival Monday with HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani where they expressed Washington's thanks to Doha for its assistance with the Afghanistan airlift. - 'Extraordinary support' - Qatar was the transit point for nearly half of the more than 120,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan in the final days of the 20-year US war as the Taliban took over. Doha is the Taliban's international diplomatic base although Blinken's aides said he has no plans to meet them as Washington instead waits to judge the group's actions in power to determine the level of engagement. The United States on Monday facilitated the evacuation of four Americans by land from Afghanistan, the first departures arranged by Washington since the military pullout. A State Department official said the Taliban were aware of the operation and did not interfere. But non-governmental organisations say that some 600 to 1,300 people -- including girls and US citizens -- are stuck at the airport in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Marina LeGree, the founder and executive director of a small American non-governmental organisation active in Afghanistan, told AFP that the Taliban are not letting anyone through. US officials say they no longer control the airspace in Afghanistan and that the main airport in Kabul, which the US military seized in August for evacuations, is in disrepair. Qatari technical teams have deployed to Kabul to assess the viability of the airport and begin to prepare it for a return to operation to allow evacuations and the arrival of badly needed humanitarian supplies. Blinken in his meeting with the Gulf state's ruler hailed "Qatar's extraordinary support in facilitating the safe transit of US citizens, our partners, and other Afghans at-risk," the State Department said. sct-gw/dwo