- Title: No extension to Aug 31 Kabul evacuation deadline at G7 talks, says Merkel
- Date: 24th August 2021
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 24, 2021) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE MERKEL ADDRESSING NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "When this evacuation mission finishes, and the conference today did not result in new dates (on the end of the evacuation mission), then there will of course be a phase, which we are preparing for intensively, where we need to find a way to make sure that even after this deadline it is still possible to evacuate local staffers and people in need of protection. So in this context there is also the question of whether a civilian airport in Afghanistan, in Kabul could be possible. At the moment we are in intense discussion about this." CAMERA MERKEL SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "On behalf of Germany, I announced that we will contribute 100 millions euros of immediate aid towards humanitarian purposes and that we will have a further 500 million at the ready." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Aside from the money it is also a question of logistics as Afghanistan has no civilian airport at the moment, and you can imagine what this means in regards to the transportation of medicines and other similar goods. And this is another reason why it is vital that we get a civilian airport in Afghanistan as soon as possible where aid could be transported." MERKEL SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "At the moment this is not an acute subject but I announced Germany's willingness to assist neighbouring countries like Iran and Pakistan in terms of looking after the refugees." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "A group is being put together from within the G7 which will effort putting together a plan of action as to how we deal with the Taliban in future. We want a unified G7 response and it won't help anything if each nation just does it's own thing but what we can say is that he evacuation is being carried out with a great feat of togetherness but of course I have to emphasise that the U.S. has the lead here. Without the U.S. we can't continue with the evacuations, this must be made clear!" CAMERA MERKEL LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 7th September 2021 17:55
- Keywords: Afghanistan Bundeswehr Chancellor Angela Merkel G7 Germany Taliban evacuation
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERN1XS7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Talks between leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Afghanistan did not lead to an extension of the Aug. 31 deadline for evacuations from Kabul, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday (August 24).
"The conference has not resulted in new dates (on the end of the evacuation mission)," Merkel told reporters after the virtual meeting of leaders.
She added that there were intensive discussions on whether a civilian-operated airport could be used after that deadline and that Germany was ready to work with countries neighboring Afghanistan, such as Pakistan and Iran, to help refugees.
(production: Tanya Wood, Martin Schlicht / Fanny Brodersen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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