NATO Ministers To Hold Video Talks On Afghanistan

The session follows an extraordinary meeting of NATO envoys on Tuesday after which Stoltenberg admitted the alliance had been caught by surprise by the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan.

NATO foreign ministers will hold an emergency videoconference on Friday to discuss the unfolding situation in Afghanistan and what steps they can take, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said. "I have convened an extraordinary virtual meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers this Friday 20 August to continue our close coordination & discuss our common approach on Afghanistan," he tweeted on Wednesday. The session follows an extraordinary meeting of NATO envoys on Tuesday after which Stoltenberg admitted the alliance had been caught by surprise by the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan. He blamed Afghan leaders for the rout, saying they "failed to stand up" to the Taliban, and stressed his priority now was to evacuate NATO's remaining 800 civilian personnel in Kabul and its Afghan employees.