Germany: 'We all have misjudged the situation' - FM Maas on Taliban takeover

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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Berlin and the international community misjudged the situation which led to the Taliban taking over Afghanistan in such a short period of time, speaking in Berlin on Monday.

“The speed with which the Afghan security forces withdrew and capitulated before the Taliban was not foreseen by neither us, nor our partners, nor our experts in such a manner”, said Maas.
He said that the evacuations of German nationals and Afghans eligible for protection in Germany remained the government’s priority.

TRANSLATIONS:

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “The latest developments are overall bitter and will have long-lasting consequences for the region, but also for us.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “We all, the [German] federal government, the intelligence services, the international community, we all have misjudged the situation. The speed with which the Afghan security forces withdrew and capitulated before the Taliban forces, was not foreseen by neither us, nor our partners, nor our experts in such a manner.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “An airplane from the German Army is bound for Kabul and will be arriving there in the coming hours. Two more are already on their way to the region. We want to take as many people as possible out of the country, along with our international partners.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “At the same time we must also deliver more humanitarian help now, in order to support the countries of the region, that will be affected the most by the aftermath of this situation.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “We have brought from the local forces, with whom we were in contact in the last weeks, in total 2,500 people, already 1,900 to Germany.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “In order to organise the evacuation of the work force and of German citizens there are persons responsible at the airport, likewise as the staff of other states, such as the USA, the UK and other states.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “There are talks being held in Doha between the representatives of the Taliban and the Afghan government, where negotiations are taking place. Hereby the main topic is to construct a peaceful power transfer.”

SOT, Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister (German): “It also the same [blame] that other colleagues internationally will have to respond to, that we had judged the situation differently to how it happened. We always acted on the international scene together.

#Afghanistan #Taliban #Germany

Video ID: 20210816-055

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