Boris Johnson says we must ‘take Taliban at face value’ and ‘judge them on their actions’ amid Afghan crisis
BORIS Johnson has said we must “take Taliban at face value” and “judge them on their actions” amid the Afghan crisis.
The Prime minister revealed that Britain will work with the Taliban if needed after the militant’s capture of Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters after he had chaired an emergency Government Cobra meeting on Afghanistan he said: “It’s worth repeating that at the end of a 20-year cycle of engagement there is a huge record to be proud of in Afghanistan.
“It bears repeating that the UK armed forces, UK diplomats, aid workers, did help to change the lives of literally millions of people in Afghanistan, to help educate millions of women and young girls who would otherwise not have been educated, and to stop terrorism from coming to this country.
“And what I want to assure people is that our political and diplomatic efforts to find a solution for Afghanistan – working with the Taliban, of course, if necessary – will go on.
“And our commitment to Afghanistan is lasting.”
‘FACE VALUE’
The Prime Minister added the UK and its allies will judge the Taliban “on its actions”.
He said: “I think it is very important that we take people at face value – we hope they mean what they say.”
Speaking in the No 10 study, he said the situation was “getting slightly better”, with “stabilisation” at Kabul airport, where there have been chaotic scenes in recent days.
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He said 2,000 people had been repatriated to the UK in the past days, with most of them UK nationals or those who had assisted British efforts in the central Asian country.
The Prime Minister stressed it would be a “mistake” to think of the end of August or the beginning of September as a “cut-off point for our involvement and our willingness to help” and that there would be time to sort accommodation and logistics for the 20,000 Afghan refugees the UK aims to take.
“The UK’s commitment to Afghanistan is lasting and our plan to help people with the resettlement programme will run for a good while to come,” he said.
‘CONFIDENCE’ IN RAAB
Meanwhile the PM has insisted he has full confidence in Dominic Raab after the Foreign Secretary was criticised for his handling of the Afghanistan crisis.
The Prime Minister was challenged over Mr Raab’s decision to delegate a call to a junior minister about repatriating Afghan interpreters.
Asked whether he had full confidence in Mr Raab, Mr Johnson told reporters in Downing Street: “Absolutely.
“And I can tell you that the whole of the Government has been working virtually around the clock to do what we can to sort it out, to deal with a situation that has been long in gestation and to make sure we get as many people back as possible.”
The question came after it was reported that Foreign Office officials advised the Foreign Secretary on August 13 to call Afghan foreign minister Hanif Atmar – two days before the Taliban marched on Kabul – to arrange help for those who had supported British troops.
But Mr Raab delegated this to department minister Lord Goldsmith, and it later emerged the call was never made.
Mr Johnson said he did not think the decision of his Cabinet minister had delayed the rescue of Afghan interpreters from the Taliban.