Blinken to Discuss Afghanistan in Qatar
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The US Secretary of State is visiting Qatar and Germany for talks on developments in Afghanistan, and he said that he will express his "deep gratitude" to Qatar for its role in evacuating foreigners from Afghanistan.
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A united front with allies: Blinken to Qatar
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aims to form a united front with allies this week to discuss the "Taliban" issue and ensure continued support to help evacuate Americans and at-risk Afghans left behind.
Blinken's trip to Qatar and Germany overlaps with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's departure on Sunday for a Gulf tour that covers Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
The top two US national security officials' visit comes while the Biden administration still grapples with what is widely seen as a messy US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Blinken will meet with senior Qatari officials in Doha and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at Ramstein airbase, where he will also co-host a ministerial meeting to cover Afghanistan.
It is worth noting that US officials confirmed that neither Blinken nor Austin are expected to meet with members of the Taliban.
The Gulf's role in Afghanistan
Thanks to its proximity to the Taliban, the wealthy UAE’s role coincides with the current top priority of Washington and a number of Western countries, represented by the evacuation of these countries’ citizens who are still trapped in Afghanistan, along with many Afghans who wish to flee.
It is worth noting that the US military established a huge air bridge in Kabul in mid-August, allowing the evacuation of about 123,000 people before the set withdrawal date from Afghanistan, and Washington said that 75 up to 80% of those evacuated are "Afghans who were at risk".
In total, more than 55,000 of the evacuees passed through Doha, the main base for the evacuation.
In Doha, Blinken will hold a virtual ministerial meeting on the Afghan crisis with officials from 20 countries, as well as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Blinken said that, during his visit, he will express his "deep gratitude" to Qatar for its role in the evacuation process from Afghanistan and will meet Afghan evacuees, as well as American diplomats who have been relocated to Doha.
He is also set to discuss with the Qataris the difficult efforts made in cooperation with Turkey to reopen Kabul Airport, which has been closed since the Americans left.
Earlier, a senior US official told reporters, "If it is necessary for the Secretary of State to talk to a Taliban leader about an issue in our national interest, he will, but we haven't reached that stage yet."
