The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Friday urged the Taliban to allow evacuations from Afghanistan and pledged that allies would continue to “closely coordinate” as those operations continued, noting that terrorism would not be allowed to return from Afghanistan.
The joint declaration by the 30 NATO members followed an urgent video conference of foreign ministers, to discuss evacuation efforts and the next steps that should be taken.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance prioritized getting people out of Kabul and keeping the airport open.
“The situation remains difficult and unpredictable,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “The main challenge we are facing is getting people to get in and out of Kabul airport.”
A NATO official noted that more than 18,000 people have been flown from Kabul since the Taliban took over the Afghan capital, but thousands of people eager to flee the country are still swarming at the airport.
Stoltenberg thanked Turkey, the United States and Britain for the efforts of the three countries to maintain security at Kabul Airport.
He again urged the Taliban to allow the safe passage of all foreign and Afghan nationals seeking to leave the country.
After nearly two decades, NATO this summer completed its military operations in Afghanistan and withdrew most of its forces from the country.
But the alliance still maintains a diplomatic representation in Kabul and operates from its headquarters in Brussels as a forum for coordinating domestic actions in Afghanistan such as evacuating citizens.