Boris Johnson demanded a guarantee from the Taliban of safe passage for those wanting to leave Afghanistan, after US president Joe Biden resisted pressure at a virtual G7 summit to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of American troops beyond 31 August.
The prime minister was speaking shortly after chairing a virtual summit of the G7 at which he and allies including Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel failed to persuade Mr Biden to extend the time available to evacuate thousands of people from Kabul airport.
US administration officials indicated that the president was sticking to the timetable agreed with Afghanistan’s new leaders, after a Taliban spokesman warned that the militant group would take “a different stance” if foreign troops remain in the country beyond the end of the month.
In a joint statement issued after their 90-minute video conference, the G7 leaders said that their immediate priority was to ensure the safe evacuation of their citizens and Afghans who have worked with them.
“We expect all parties to continue to facilitate this, and to ensure the safety of humanitarian and medical personnel, and other international service providers,” said the leaders of G7 states the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
Recommended Boris Johnson’s Brexit chief to lay down ultimatum to Brussels Johnson urged to expand UK’s ‘total farce’ scheme for Afghan refugees PM isolated as MPs rage at UK’s ‘weakness’ and ‘shame’ in Afghanistan
And they warned: “We will judge the Afghan parties by their actions, not words.
“In particular, we reaffirm that the Taliban will be held accountable for their actions on preventing terrorism, on human rights in particular those of women, girls and minorities and on pursuing an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan.
“The legitimacy of any future government depends on the approach it now takes to uphold its international obligations and commitments to ensure a stable Afghanistan.”
Boris Johnson addresses fellow G7 leaders via a secure video link from 9 Downing Street
(Simon Dawson / No10 Downing Street)
In a broadcast interview following the summit, Mr Johnson said that an “extraordinary” UK airlift had already brought around 9,000 people out of Afghanistan and promised it would continue “right up until the last moment that we can”.
But he acknowledged that his bid to secure additional days from Biden had failed, saying: “You’ve heard what the president of the United States has had to say, you’ve heard what the Taliban have said”.
UK ministers have publicly accepted that British troops cannot remain in Kabul without the protection of a 6,000-strong US force and have acknowledged that any evacuations beyond the end of the month were likely to be dependent on the co-operation of the Taliban.
Mr Johnson said the UK was “confident” that it could get thousands more eligible people out, but said that there were public order issues, describing scenes of frantic Afghans attempting to get into the airport as “harrowing”.
The PM said G7 leaders had agreed a roadmap for the way they would engage with the Taliban regime.
“The number one condition we’re setting as the G7 is that they have got to guarantee, right the way through 31 August and beyond, safe passage safe passage for those who want to come out,” said Mr Johnson.
“Some of them, I hope, will see the sense of that because the G7 has very considerable leverage, economic, diplomatic and political.”
European Council president Charles Michel and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen made clear they were among “several” leaders at the summit who expressed concerns about the 31 August deadline and urged Mr Biden to extend it.
“We raised the issue with our American friends … the need to secure the airport as long as is necessary to complete the operations,” said Mr Michel in a press conference in Brussels.
He also called on the Taliban to allow “safe passage” to those trying to reach Kabul airport and any Afghans who wish to leave the country after the deadline.
Mr Johnson said that he was “totally realistic” about the nature of the Taliban, which imposed a brutal fundamentalist rule in Afghanistan prior to its overthrow in 2001, but insisted that democratic countries should engage with the group and try to exert an influence on its actions.
“I don't think that anybody is going to pretend that this is anything other than a very difficult situation, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore the leverage that we have,” said the PM.
“If there's huge funds that are going to be unfrozen eventually for use by the government and people of Afghanistan, then what we're saying is Afghanistan can't look back into becoming a breeding ground for terrorism, Afghanistan can’t become a narco state, girls have got to be educated up to the age of 18 and so on.
“Those are important things that we value as the G7, those are the things that unite us, they are things for which we fought for years in Afghanistan, for which people in this country gave their lives.
“And the point that was made today by G7 leaders, is that we remain committed to those values, and we remain committed to Afghanistan. But the number one condition that were insisting upon is safe passage beyond 31 August or beyond this initial phase for those who want to leave Afghanistan.”
Mr Johnson played down the prospect of any future military intervention by G7 states in Afghanistan.
After centuries of foreign states including Britain sending troops to Afghanistan, he said he hoped that “there is now a different path forward to a better future”.
World news in pictures Show all 50
1/50World news in pictures
World news in pictures 24 August 2021 People take pictures of fireworks outside the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo
Reuters
World news in pictures 23 August 2021 Staff members spraying disinfectant at a school ahead of the new semester in Bozhou, China’s eastern Anhui province
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 22 August 2021 A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan area in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan
AP
World news in pictures 21 August 2021 Mexican firefighters known as "Topos" work in the early morning hours in a search and rescue mission, amid the rubble from last week's 7.2 magnitude earthquake, in Les Cayes, Haiti
AP
World news in pictures 20 August 2021 Bangladeshi vendor sells a religious item during a Muharram event at the premises of Hussaini Dalan in Dhaka, Bangladesh
EPA
World news in pictures 19 August 2021 Law enforcement officers with rifles take position near the US Capitol building in Washington DC as police investigate a possible explosive device in a truck near the heart of American government
AP
World news in pictures 18 August 2021 A Taliban fighter patrols in Wazir Akbar Khan in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan
AP
World news in pictures 17 August 2021 Art students paint messages of solidarity with people at risk in Afghanistan’s crisis outside an art school in Mumbai
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 16 August 2021 Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures 15 August 2021 Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar province in southwest Afghanistan
AP
World news in pictures 14 August 2021 A collapsed building is seen in Les Cayes, Haiti following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which left at least 29 people dead
Reuters
World news in pictures 13 August 2021 Perseids are seen next to Milky Way during the annual Perseid meteor shower at Tres Mares peak, in Cantabria, northern Spain
EPA
World news in pictures 12 August 2021 A woman sits along the broken steps of a partially-collapsed building destroyed by bombardment during the May 2021 conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures 11 August 2021 People stranded at the Pakistani-Afghan border wait for its reopening after it was closed by the Talibans, who have taken over the control of the Afghan side of the border at Chaman, Pakistan
EPA
World news in pictures 10 August 2021 Supporters cheer outside French football club Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes stadium in Paris after Argentinian football player Lionel Messi landed in Le Bourget airport to sign for the club
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 9 August 2021 People perform a folk dance to traditional music as they celebrate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in Mumbai, India
EPA
World news in pictures 8 August 2021 Thank you messages is displayed inside the stadium during the Olympic closing ceremony in Tokyo
Reuters
World news in pictures 7 August 2021 Pro-democracy protesters clash with police during a demonstration demanding Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-Ochas and King Maha Vajiralongkorn be held accountable for the governments failure to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, in Bangkok
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures 6 August 2021 Members of local NPO release paper lanterns on Motoyasu River in front of beside the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, as it was known before 1945, and now called the Atomic Bomb Dome, as the city marks the 76th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 5 August 2021 The Men's Decathletes pose for a photo following their competition on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan
Getty
World news in pictures 4 August 2021 Maronite clergymen pray near damaged grain silos at the port of Lebanon’s capital on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 3 August 2021 An underwater view shows France’s Charlotte and Laura Tremble during the women’s duet technical routine artistic swimming event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 2 August 2021 Germany compete in the women's team pursuit qualifying event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Izu Velodrome
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 1 August 2021 enezuela's Yulimar Rojas competes in the women's triple jump final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Rojas took gold and broke the Olympic and World Record in the process
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 31 July 2021 Elaine Thompson-Herah celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal ahead of Jamaican teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women's 100m final at the Tokyo Olympic Games
Reuters
World news in pictures 30 July 2021 Athletes compete during the men’s 3000m Steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 29 July 2021 Athletes compete in the BMX men’s Olympic quarter-finals run at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 28 July 2021 A picture taken with a drone shows researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University investigating a dead fin whale found in the harbor of Terneuzen, The Netherlands
EPA
World news in pictures 27 July 2021 People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk past extra papers reporting on Japanese gold medalists at Tokyo Olympics
AP
World news in pictures 26 July 2021 The ball hits Thailand's Orawan Paranang's face as she competes against Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa during her women's singles round 3 table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 25 July 2021 A woman walks in the rubble after flooding due to heavy rains in Dinant, Belgium, a week after more than 30 people were killed in floods in the country
EPA
World news in pictures 24 July 2021 A firefighter uses a drip torch to light a backfire in an effort to stop the spread of the Dixie fire in Prattville, California
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 23 July 2021 An overview shows Japan's tennis player Naomi Osaka lighting the flame of hope in the Olympic Cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures 22 July 2021 People wade through a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China’s Henan province
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 21 July 2021 People celebrate in Brisbane, Australia, following an announcement by the International Olympic Committee that the city was picked to host the 2032 Olympics
AAP Image via AP
World news in pictures 20 July 2021 Muslims attending the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Skenderbej Square in Tirana
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 19 July 2021 Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Reuters
World news in pictures 18 July 2021 People protest against the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan
Reuters
World news in pictures 17 July 2021 A long exposure photograph shows Muslim pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand mosque in the holy Saudi city of Mecca during the annual hajj pilgrimage
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 16 July 2021 A van crushed by the torrents is pressed against a tree after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 15 July 2021 A staff member sits at an interactive digital installation "Fire / Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest" during a media preview of "teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live" at the lobby of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, Takeo Hot Springs in Saga prefecture
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 14 July 2021 Pupils of the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr march during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rescuers look for bodies after a catastrophic blaze erupted Monday at a coronavirus hospital ward in the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital, in Nasiriyah, Iraq
AP
World news in pictures 12 July 2021 People try to recover a car damaged during flash floods after heavy monsoon rains in Bhagsunag, a popular tourist town in Himachal Pradesh, India
AP
World news in pictures 11 July 2021 Police cars are seen overturned in the street in the framework of a demonstration against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 10 July 2021 Tanya and Evance Chanda from Mechanicsville look on as a statue of Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is removed after years of a legal battle over the contentious monument, in Charlottesville, Virginia
Reuters
World news in pictures 9 July 2021 Hundreds of Haitians gather in front of the US embassy in the hope that they will be granted a visa to leave their country, due the uncertainty of what may happen after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
EPA
World news in pictures 8 July 2021 NGOs fly huge rainbow balloon at Hungary's parliament protesting against anti-LGBT law in Budapest
Reuters
World news in pictures 7 July 2021 The Ever Given leaves the Suez Canal after its Japanese owners reached a settlement following more than three months and a court standoff over compensation for it blocking the crucial east-west waterway for nearly a week earlier this year
Getty
World news in pictures 6 July 2021 Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrives to be greeted by German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin
AFP/Getty
“I don't think anybody is going to believe that this is going to be easy or that this is likely in the short term, but there has got to be a world in which the people of Afghanistan find the leadership, find the wisdom to come together to make accommodations with each other - for the Pashtun to to sit down with the Tajiks and the Uzbek and the Turkmen and all the factions to get together and finally to agree on a way forward for that country,” said Mr Johnson.
“The point that Joe Biden has been trying to make is that it is very difficult for Western powers to try to impose that sort of order on a country if a country is unwilling to do it itself.
“I think what we all want to see now is the UN helping to lead a political process that will try to take Afghanistan to a different future without Afghanistan feeling it has to subcontract or outsource its government to foreign powers or to expeditionary forces. That's got to be what we're all working for. It'll take patience and it will take time.
“But in the meantime, what we need to do is to use our very very considerable influence as G7 to work on the new powers in Afghanistan, to insist on safe passage, and to follow the path that we think is compatible with our values and which will enable us to engage positively with them in the future.”