G7 need to talk about extending evacuations deadline from Kabul, Germany says

BERLIN: Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised countries need to coordinate evacuation efforts from Kabul airport and whether they should continue beyond the Aug 31 deadline set by the United States, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday.

At their summit on Tuesday, G7 leaders will also discuss how to improve access for evacuees to Kabul airport, Maas told reporters in Berlin, adding Germany has been looking at options for keeping the airport running beyond Aug 31 for days.

"We are talking with the United States, Turkey and other partners with the aim of facilitating a civil operation of Kabul airport to enable the evacuation of people (beyond Aug 31)," Maas said. "We will also have to continue to talk with the Taliban about this issue, and that's what we are doing."