Raab: Countries around Afghanistan need to come together to exert pressure on Taliban
The UK’s foreign secretary has said there needs to be “wider buy-in” from countries in the region around Afghanistan to exert maximum influence on the Taliban.
Speaking at a news conference in Doha with his opposite number from Qatar, Dominic Raab said an “international coalition” needs to be formed to “exert the maximum moderating influence” on the Taliban following its takeover of the central Asian country.
Mr Raab said: “We need to get wider buy-in, regional countries involved… there’s a lot of countries with a direct stake in what happens in Afghanistan, as well as countries who will feel and be moved by the humanitarian risks and the plight.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gave a news conference in Doha alongside his Qatari counterpart
“Above all, we need to put a grouping together that can exert maximum moderating influence on what the Taliban does next. And we will certainly be judging them. Yes, on their words. But more importantly, what they’re willing to do to live up to the assurances that they’ve made.”
Despite saying there was scope for engagement and dialogue with the Taliban, he said the UK has no immediate plans to recognise the group as a government.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani said the Gulf state was talking with the Taliban and working with Turkey to see if it can provide technical support to restart operations at Kabul airport, but he was unable to give any time line. Sky News understands this might be weeks, rather than days.
It comes as Mr Raab said he hoped that many of those who had worked with the UK and UK-linked organisations – or were part of Afghan civil society but were not among the 17,000 evacuated from Kabul airport – may still be given safe passage out.
Taliban parade in Kandahar as it showcases military hardware seized during takeover
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Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says there is a ‘need’ for ‘direct engagement’ with the Taliban.
Meanwhile, in other developments around Afghanistan:
• Taliban rulers are to unveil their new government, with a ceremony being prepared at the presidential palace
• Prices are soaring, the currency has plunged, shops are closed and the Taliban is struggling to keep banks and essential services running
• Humanitarian organisations have warned of catastrophe as severe drought and the war have forced thousands of families to flee their homes
• The EU has said it is still far from deciding whether it will recognise the Taliban
At the news conference, the Mr Raab said four key points for the future were: stopping Afghanistan becoming a “haven” for terrorists, preventing a humanitarian crisis, preserving regional stability and holding the Taliban to account over its claims it will form a more inclusive government.
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Tom Tugendhat said revealing the document was made on 22 July, before the fall of Kabul, was ‘clearly in the public interest’.
He added that Qatar was a “lynch pin” in dealing with the Afghanistan crisis.
Mr Raab said: “We feel responsibility to make sure that the remaining British nationals and Afghan workers can come to the UK.
“But we are also here and I am here – not just in Qatar but moving on afterwards – to talk to regional countries about how we can ensure safe passage through third countries.
“The reality is, as I have described, we will not be recognising the Taliban any time in the foreseeable future, but I think there is an important scope for engagement and dialogue and testing the intentions and indeed the assurances that have already been made by the Taliban.”
The foreign secretary was anticipated to go on to meet the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, and his deputy prime minister.
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The foreign secretary would not be drawn on when he started his holiday, calling questions about it a ‘fishing expedition’.
He will meet Foreign Office officials after the British Embassy to Afghanistan was temporarily relocated and is now up and running in Doha.
Mr Raab left the UK hours after he was questioned by MPs in the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the events in central Asia.
The foreign secretary told the committee the advice from the intelligence community and the military was that Kabul was unlikely to fall this year.
Following his appearance, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace struck back at Mr Raab’s comments, saying in an interview published on Thursday that history shows “it’s not about failure of intelligence, it’s about the limits of intelligence”.
Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda.
“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room.
Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared the video, saying that Russia’s “paranoia about the ‘NATO threat’ has reached new heights”.
Follow latest: Russia’s aviation watchdog comments on Azerbaijani Airlines crash
Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow
Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko reported that it was released after the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day – amid speculation it was shot down by Russian air defences.
Sky News has not yet been able to verify the timing of the video’s release, which appeared on pro-Russian social media channels and not from an official source.
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The video begins with Santa, dressed in red, flying in a sleigh above the Russian capital, saying: “Ho, ho, ho! Hi Russians, here are your presents! Happy New Year!”
It then shows a missile blowing up the sleigh and cuts to the control room, where an alternative Father Christmas dressed in blue asks “Is that it?” and a man in uniform replies: “Yes, the target is destroyed.”
“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” the Santa says in response.
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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.
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