Protests in London against Taliban rule in Aghanistan.
Britain plans to urge world leaders to consider new sanctions against the Taliban when the G7 meets on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, sources told Reuters.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who currently heads the group that includes the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, called for the virtual meeting on Sunday, in the wake of the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan.
Britain believes the G7 should consider economic sanctions and withhold support if the Taliban commit human rights violations and allow their territory to be used as a haven for terrorists, a British government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday.
Taliban terrorists seized control of Kabul over the weekend in an upheaval that sent civilians and Afghan military allies fleeing for safety. Many fear a return to the strict interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule that ended 20 years ago.
“It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the achievements of the past 20 years,” Johnson said on Twitter on Sunday.
Sanctions against the Taliban are unlikely to be approved immediately, a Western diplomat said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab first raised the possibility of sanctions to pressure the Taliban last week.
Biden, who has come under fire at home and abroad for his approach to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, last week told reporters that G7 leaders will work out a concerted approach to the Taliban and has held talks with Johnson, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President. Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Biden will make remarks about Afghanistan at the White House on Sunday afternoon. The US military said earlier on Sunday it had ordered commercial planes to help transport people already evacuated from Afghanistan.
Biden told reporters on Friday that he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would work with other countries to set “hard terms” for any association with or recognition of the Taliban, based on their treatment of women and girls and the general state. service in the field of human rights.
