The United States and 97 other countries said on Sunday that they would continue to take in people fleeing Afghanistan after the American military departs this week and had secured an agreement with the Taliban (the movement banned in Russia) to allow safe passage for those who are leaving, the New York Times reported.
“We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan,” the 98 countries said in their joint statement.
“We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country,” the countries added.
The countries said that they would continue providing travel documentation to those who wanted to leave the country, adding that they had a “clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries.”
The statement did not include Russia and China, two U.N. Security Council member countries.
