UK in talks with Taliban to ensure Britons get safe passage out of Afghanistan
The UK is in talks with the Taliban to ensure Britons can safely leave Afghanistan, the government has said.
Its special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has met senior members of the hardline Islamist group in Doha, Qatar.
They also discussed safe passage for Afghans who have worked with the UK over the last 20 years.
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Taliban fighters have fired shots into the sky in celebration as the final US troops left Afghanistan, ending 20 years of war.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has travelled to Doha and is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past 20 years.”
It comes as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab admitted it will be a “challenge” for Britons left in Afghanistan to find a route to the UK.
He told Sky News the number of Britons who had not been flown out as part of the now-finished UK evacuation was in the “low hundreds”.
Mr Raab acknowledged it was “unclear” when the airport in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, would operate again and advised those who still sought to leave the country to find a route to the UK via neighbouring countries.
More than 17,000 British nationals, Afghans who worked with the UK and other vulnerable people have been evacuated from the country since April, the foreign secretary said.
Of the UK nationals remaining in Afghanistan, Mr Raab said: “Most of those are difficult cases where it’s not clear around eligibility because they’re undocumented.
“We’ve now put in place the arrangements with third countries, or we’re putting them in place.
“I’ve spoken to some of the key third countries, so have other ministers, to make sure we can have a workable route through for those outstanding cases.”
Taliban forces patrol near the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport, a day after U.S troops withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Asked whether his advice for those UK nationals still in Afghanistan would be for them to head across one of the country’s borders, Mr Raab added: “It depends if they are eligible or not and, of course, we’re in contact with them to be able to establish that.
“That’s made more difficult because we don’t have the base at the airport.
“Certainly if they’re eligible British nationals, there are embassies in those third countries – whether it’s Pakistan or one of the stans.”
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South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.
The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.
The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.
Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.
South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.
The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.
Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.
A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP
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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.
Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.
Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.
Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he would be open to peace talks with Ukraine in Slovakia “if it comes to that”.
Mr Putin said Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who this week visited the Kremlin, had offered his country as a location for negotiations as the war in Ukraine nears the three-year mark.
The Russian president said the Slovakian authorities “would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations”.
“We are not opposed, if it comes to that. Why not? Since Slovakia takes such a neutral position,” Mr Putin said, adding he was resolved to end the conflict in Ukraine, which started with a land, air and sea invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour in February 2022.
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Ukraine is yet to comment on Slovakia’s offer but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly criticised the country, which borders Ukraine, for the friendly tone Mr Fico has struck towards Russia since his return to power after an election in 2023.
Mr Fico has been critical of EU support for Ukraine, where millions have been displaced since Mr Putin’s decision to launch a “special military operation” to “denazify” and “demilitarise” the 37 million-strong country.
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Mr Putin has repeatedly said Russia is open to talks to end the conflict with Kyiv, but that it would nevertheless achieve its goals in Ukraine.
He has previously demanded Ukraine withdraw its bid to join NATO and asked it to recognise Russia’s gains. Both Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.
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But while Mr Zelenskyy had for most of the conflict insisted Ukraine would keep fighting until it regained control of its territories, his position on negotiations now appears to have shifted.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zelenskyy suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if the Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken “under the NATO umbrella”.
This would then allow him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.
The Ukrainian leader admitted last week his forces would be unable to recapture any territories occupied by Russia in the east of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.
While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get Mr Putin to withdraw his army.
The war in Ukraine has taken a devastating toll on Russia too. UK government and military analysis estimates that Russia has lost around half a million troops killed or wounded in Ukraine.
Such is the pressure on manpower that The Kremlin turned to one of its remaining allies, North Korea, to provide additional forces.
It’s thought 10,000 to 12,000 troops were sent in October to fight alongside the Russian military in the fighting in the Kursk region.
However it’s suggested their lack of combat experience has resulted in heavy losses, with Mr Zelenskyy saying earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have already been killed and wounded.
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