German foreign minister declares end of Afghanistan mission, vows to help those left behind
Record ID:
1633797
German foreign minister declares end of Afghanistan mission, vows to help those left behind
- Title: German foreign minister declares end of Afghanistan mission, vows to help those left behind
- Date: 26th August 2021
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 26, 2021) (CORONAPOOL) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS ARRIVING FOR STATEMENT WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS, SAYING: "Minutes before the last Bundeswehr aircraft started flying out, a despicable attack took place at Kabul airport, which cost many people their lives and injured many others. Shortly afterwards there was a second attack. The pictures and videos we are seeing out of Kabul are terrible and move each person to the core. Innocent, desperate people were the victims of this terror attack. U.S. soldiers were also victims of the attack, and our thoughts are with all those who have lost a relative or are still worrying about them. At this point we have not heard of any German victims." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS, SAYING: "The military evacuation is now over, but our work will continue until all those for whom we have responsibility in Afghanistan are in safety. And that is why our aid efforts will start a new phase today. As we knew from the beginning that the window for the air bridge would only be open for a short while, we spent the time at the same time as the evacuations in planning for the next stage. We remain in direct contact with German nationals still in Afghanistan." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS, SAYING: "We are in the process of meeting for talks with neighbouring countries so that we will be able to get Afghans safely from the border to our embassies. For this I will be flying to the region on Sunday to meet with my colleagues in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. At the same time we have made clear that we are prepared to offer our support to the neighbouring countries to surmount the humanitarian disaster spilling over from Afghanistan. Talks will also focus on how the international community deals with this new reality in Afghanistan." WHITE FLASH MAAS LEAVES
- Embargoed: 9th September 2021 19:17
- Keywords: Afghanistan Bundeswehr German Foreign Minister Kabul airport Taliban evacuations explosion
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERX48CN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDIT CONTAINS WHITE FLASHES
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday announced he would travel to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in the coming days for talks on the latest developments in Afghanistan and how to continue evacuations.
His talks will focus on how the international community can handle the situation in Afghanistan and under which conditions agreements with a new government in Kabul are possible.
Germany's diplomatic efforts follow the official end of the Kabul air bridge to get Afghan and foreign nationals out of the country.
"The military evacuation is now over but our work will continue until all those for whom we have responsibility in Afghanistan are in safety. And that is why our aid efforts will start a new phase today. As we knew from the beginning that the window for the air bridge would only be open for a short while we spent the time at the same time as the evacuations in planning for the next stage. We remain in direct contact with German nationals still in Afghanistan," Maas said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Maas all spoke to the media within minutes of each other on Thursday following news that all German army and mission personnel had safely landed in Tashkent.
The U.S. - led mission had been due to run until August 31. but was aborted after at least two suicide attacks left many dead and injured just outside Kabul airport.
Media reports said U.S. soldiers were among the dead.
(Production: Tanya Wood) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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