Alexey Naumov
The G7 countries gathered on Tuesday for an unscheduled summit in video format. The reason for the meeting was the fall of the Afghan government and the seizure of power in the country by the Taliban. The participants in the meeting set themselves three goals: to help Afghans who are at risk to leave the country, to coordinate interaction with the Taliban and to force them to form an “inclusive government”. The overarching task of the main participant in the meeting, US President Joe Biden, was to demonstrate that Washington remains the recognized leader of the free world. It didn’t work out very well. The head of the White House actually went against the partners’ request to extend the mission of American troops in Afghanistan.
The times turned out to be really urgent, which was reflected in the information background of the Afghan meeting of the G7. Shortly before the summit, The Washington Post, citing unnamed American officials, reported that the head of the US Central Intellige-nce Agency (CIA) William Burns had met with Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the leaders of the Taliban terrorist organization that sei-zed power in Afghanistan. The CIA and the Taliban did not confirm the information.
But if The Washi-ngton Post was right, then this was not the first meeting of Baradar with representatives of the CIA: in 2010, intelligence agents, together with Pakistani colleagues, arrested him in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
“It is not yet clear how the capture of Mullah Baradar will affect the direction of the work of the Taliban, which has so far refused to renounce al-Qaeda and accept the Afghan constitution,” the newspaper wrote at the time. The New York Times. Years have passed since then, Mr. Baradar, at the insistence of the Donald Trump administration, was released in 2018 – it was believed that he would help achieve peace in the framework of the negotiations with the Taliban then – and he lived to see a second meeting with a CIA representative in a new, much more significant status.
It is reported that Mr. B-urns tried to agree with the former captive on the terms of extending the stay of A-merican forces in Afgha-nistan – it was originally assumed that the United S-tates should leave the country by August 31. It is noteworthy that earlier the representative of the terrorists Suheil Shahin said that this was out of the question and threatened the United Sta-tes with “consequences.” Then the Taliban reiterated that the evacuation operation should be completed by the end of the summer and there was no talk of any extension.
They also called on Afghans not to leave the country and pledged to ensure their safety. Sources of CNN at the Pentagon said that Joe Biden was notified: the final decision must be made immediately so that the military has time to prepare for their own evacuation. He, in fact, accepted it.
Referring to the increasing level of danger every day, Joe Biden upheld the original plan, abandoning its significant extension, although the head of the White House was asked to do so by the leaders of Great Britain, France and Germany. However, at the summit, as reported by Reuters, Mr. Biden said that the possibility of some extension of the mission of American troops in Afghanistan still remains.
In these conditions of constructive cooperation with the Taliban – which, according to Joe Biden, “are going to interact” – and not too constructive cooperation with the allies, the meeting of the “group of seven” took place. Before her, the organizer of the meeting, Boris Johnson, proposed a five-point plan, which, according to him, should help the situation in Afghanistan not turn into a humanitarian disaster.
Mr. Johnson called for immediate assistance to those to whom the Western countries have obligations to protect themselves from terrorist attacks, to support Afghans with humanitarian aid, to create ways to resettle the country’s citizens in need, and to work out a general plan to interact with the “new Afghan regime.”
As a result, the G7 leaders adopted a joint statement in which they expressed “deepest concern about what is happening in Afghanistan.” “Our primary task is to evacuate our citizens and those Afghans who have cooperated with us and helped us over the past 20 years, and to ensure a safe exit from the country. We will continue close cooperation on this issue,” the document says.
The countries also agreed to support UN efforts to coordinate a humanitarian mission in the country and develop a mechanism for the safe and legal resettlement of Afghans.
Interaction with the Taliban was also discussed at the meeting. Mr. Johnson said that the G7 has developed a mechanism of contacts with the Taliban: the new authorities of Afghanistan can unfreeze tens of billions of dollars in international aid if they ensure the unhindered exit of refugees, allow women under 18 to receive education and prevent a return to “terrorism and the drug state.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also said that the fight against terror should be the main task of the Afghan authorities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in turn, said that Canadian forces may remain in the country after August 31. “We will work together with allies and countries in the region through the UN, through the G20 and other means to work with the international community to tackle critical issues around Afghanistan. And we will judge the Afghan side by their deeds, but not by their words, ”the statement ends.
