Discusses Charter Flights To Evacuate Citizens With The Taliban, The United States Is Assisted By Qatar

Illustration of the evacuation of civilians at Kabul airport, Afghanistan. (Wikimedia Commons/US Central Command Public Affairs)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday his government was working to ensure charter flights to get its citizens and Afghans at risk safely out of Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Blinken said the United States had been conducting diplomacy with the Taliban, which came to power in Afghanistan last month, with Taliban officials saying they would allow people with valid travel documents to leave the country freely.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Blinken said Washington had identified a small number of Americans who were trying to leave Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken underlined, the challenge with evacuation charter flights is that some Afghans who wish to leave do not have the appropriate documents.

Being in Qatar, Foreign Minister Blinken is not alone. He is with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who are trying to find ways to evacuate Americans and Afghans who are at risk following the Taliban takeover. At the same time, to build consensus among the Allies. They thanked Qatar for its support and actions.

"Qatar goes above and beyond. Your generosity saved thousands of lives," Lloyd Austin said at a joint news conference in Doha, praising Qatar's assistance.

Meanwhile, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said his country hopes Kabul airport will be operational for passengers in the next few days. However, no agreement on how to implement it has not yet been reached.

Qatar has been working with Turkey and the United States to restore operations at Kabul airport. Sheikh Mohammed said the airport would need equipment upgrades.