The fight against terrorism and the Afghan crisis were invited, Saturday, August 28, to the Baghdad summit devoted to the fight against terrorism and the sovereignty of Iraq. But the seizure of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan and the attack perpetrated by the Islamic State organization in Khorasan (EI-K), Thursday in Kabul, have somewhat shaken up the exchanges.
“Whatever the American choices, we will maintain our presence to fight terrorism in Iraq, as long as Iraq asks for it”, first wanted to remind Emmanuel Macron during a press conference in Baghdad. “We have the operational capacities to ensure this presence”, he added.
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Discussions with the Taliban on humanitarian operations
But the President of the Republic said above all that discussions were engaged with the Taliban in Afghanistan. “We are in the process of having discussions. They remain extremely fragile and temporary (…). But yes, there are discussions that have started with the Taliban on the subject of humanitarian operations and the ability to protect returnees, Afghans and Afghans who are at risk. “
These discussions are being conducted with Qatar, which may have the possibility of “Reopen airlifts” with Afghanistan, while the Gulf Emirate has already hosted Taliban representatives for several years for negotiations with the former Afghan power and the United States.
These air bridges “Would allow evacuation operations in a necessarily different framework but within a framework necessarily and systematically negotiated with the Taliban”, said Emmanuel Macron. “This very clearly is a condition for us of any form of political engagement (…) towards the Taliban”, added the French president.
A French delegation met representatives of the Taliban in Doha on Thursday for the first time since they took power. The latter made their entry into Kabul on August 15, following a lightning offensive across the country in parallel with the military withdrawal from the United States announced in the spring by US President Joe Biden.
More than 2,800 evacuations from Kabul
This seizure of power has led Western countries to urgently attempt to evacuate their nationals as well as all the Afghans who have collaborated with them during twenty years of foreign presence in the country, causing chaos around the Kabul airport. towards which thousands of people converged. The Taliban have said all foreign forces should have left Afghanistan by August 31, which has become the deadline for such evacuations despite a large number of candidates to leave.
France has already evacuated 2,834 people, including 142 French, 17 Europeans and therefore nearly 2,700 Afghans via fifteen flights since August 17, announced Emmanuel Macron.
New intervention Sunday evening
In addition, Emmanuel Macron will be the guest on Sunday evening on TF1’s television news to discuss “The situation in Afghanistan and the region”, the channel announced in a press release. The president made a first speech on the situation in Afghanistan on August 16, the day after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban. The interview with the Head of State will take place from Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
