US President Biden carries out his policy in Afghanistan – no matter what the Europeans say. The evacuations should end soon. The confidence of the allies has been shaken. This is how the press comments on the summit.
For the time being, the US is sticking to its goal of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by August 31. US President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday after the G7 heads of state and government went on video. The president had told his colleagues that the US operation could be ended on schedule by August 31, based on the current progress, it said. He also asked the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for contingency plans in order to adjust the schedule if this should become necessary.
The European allies in London, Paris and Berlin are pressing for a later withdrawal date because this is the only way to continue the evacuation operation in its current form. There are still many thousands of people who want to leave the country because the Taliban came to power on the exit lists of the 26 participating nations. The militant Islamists, who now control almost all parts of the country as well as the capital Kabul, had made it clear that they would not accept a further presence of western armed forces.
“Joe Biden did not listen to his allies in the G7”
After the G7 switch, Chancellor Angela Merkel had already stated that Biden had not given a new time for the withdrawal of US troops during the virtual meeting. But she cannot yet say what exactly that means “over time”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the Taliban to grant safe conduct to those wishing to leave Afghanistan even after the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. EU Council President Charles Michel stressed that there was a need to secure the airport for as long as necessary in order to complete the evacuation mission. He demanded flexibility from Biden at the end of the Afghanistan mission.
This is how the press from home and abroad commented on the results of the G7 summit:
“Frankfurter Rundschau”: “The clearer it becomes that the western states are running out of time to be able to fly nationals and Afghan aid workers out of Kabul, the more important it becomes for the G7 states not to concentrate only on the rescue operation at the airport in the Afghan capital. Because even if they manage to use arguments, pressure or money to persuade the Taliban to postpone the end of the evacuation mission by hours or even days, they will not be able to bring all the thousands of people to safety that they have access to Want to withdraw the Taliban. The Biden administration must find other ways with the allies in order to leave no one behind. One possibility could be the Western aid, without which Afghanistan cannot survive. A drought has increased the hardship in one of the poorest countries in the world so that many are already missing the bare essentials. Here, too, the West is once again dependent on the benevolence of the Taliban. “
“Weser Courier”: “The virtual crisis summit of the G7 was nothing more than a meeting of petitioners. It is Joe Biden who decides on an extension of the rescue operation, and that is also part of this drama. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says it openly: The Americans decide and we do It cannot stay that way. The strengthening of the European pillar in NATO has been discussed again and again, nothing has changed, and it has also been pointed out again and again that the success of the international mission in Afghanistan can only then be measured if an orderly withdrawal succeeds. But that is exactly what went wrong. “
“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “Meanwhile, the powerful of the world are meeting at the G7 summit. The failure in the Hindu Kush associated with the hasty withdrawal is a bad sign. It is signaling to other Islamist groups and organizations that bloody resistance is paying off. Biden tries his decision in London to justify the unconditional withdrawal, which his predecessor Donald Trump is actually responsible for. Biden speaks of a logical, rational and correct decision. Whether he himself believes what he is saying? In any case, surveys show that the Americans are not good at implementing the decision Find.”
“Times”, London: “In fact, it was unlikely that Boris Johnson would succeed in convincing Joe Biden to leave the US troops in Kabul beyond the end of the month. The deadline set by the US President may have been arbitrary and unnecessary. and it was clearly inadequate for the task at hand. But as (British) Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had already admitted, the evacuation depends on the cooperation of the Taliban, not least to avert the threat of a terrorist attack on the airport. (… )
Nevertheless, it cannot be overlooked that the events in Afghanistan have weakened the G7 considerably. In the coming days and weeks, the main priority will be to prevent a major regional humanitarian crisis. In the longer term, the challenge for Western governments will be to re-strengthen their alliances while at the same time adapting their security policies to the reality of increasing US isolationism. “
“Kommersant”, Moscow: “The Magnificent Seven and Kabul: The countries of the G7 group met 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 by the Taliban, which is banned as a terrorist movement in Russia. The participants in the meeting had three goals: to help Afghans to leave the country because they are in danger; to coordinate cooperation with the Taliban and to urge the formation of an ‘inclusive government’.
For US President Joe Biden, however, the most important task as the main participant of the meeting was to demonstrate that Washington remains the recognized leader of the free world. And that didn’t go very well. The head of the White House simply pushed aside the request of the partners, the US armed forces mission in Afghanistan. Joe Biden didn’t listen to his allies in the G7. “
“Tages-Anzeiger”, Zurich: “The group of seven comprises the most important and richest western industrial nations. Apart from Japan, all belong to NATO. The military experience in Afghanistan would therefore be available to secure Kabul’s airport for a few days longer. Nevertheless, the G7 seems to be separated from the Taliban Regardless of their power, the G7 heads of state and government seem like seven dwarfs who duck down from the Islamist victors in order to dilute themselves as quickly as possible.
The Taliban, meanwhile, pose as superpower conquerors. They even dared to give the West an ultimate call to stop evacuation flights at the end of August. Should the USA, the G7 and Europe actually adhere to it submissively, they will lose the last bit of dignity and respect in the Kabul debacle. “
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