The United States has an “unwavering commitment” to bringing Americans and vulnerable Afghans to safety outside Afghanistan, the president said as Taliban fighters repelled thousands of desperate Afghans trying to reach Kabul airport.
The US president said US forces had expanded the “safe zone” around Kabul airport and added that he still hoped the operation to leave Afghanistan would be completed by 31 August. However, leaving a window to extend the deadline, he said: “There will be discussions, I guess.”
“We will see what we can do,” he told a reporter who asked him what he would do if US allies asked Washington to keep US troops in Afghanistan longer. “I will be clear. “The evacuation of thousands from Kabul will be difficult and painful,” he said, “regardless of the start-up time,” he told a news conference at the White House.
ΚΥΠΕ – ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
