WASHINGTON DC (Mon-itoring Desk): US President Biden denied media reports that the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will be completed in the coming days.
“No, we are moving in line with the expectations we have set for ourselves,” Biden told reporters at the White House, when asked if the withdrawal would be completed in the coming days. He said that the U.S. has “worked out an over-the-horizon capacity” to assist the Afghan government if air support is needed to keep Kabul out of the hands of the Taliban, but stressed that “the Afghans are going to have to be able to do it themselves with the air force they have, which we’re helping them maintain.”
On Friday, the Telegraph newspaper, citing a source close to British Chief of Staff Carter, reported that British and American tro-ops would be withdrawn fr-om Afghanistan by July 4.
Biden recalled that the withdrawal of troops, as announced, would go on until September of this year and stressed that it would be carried out “rationally” and in coordination with the allies.
“I think they have the ability to be able to hold on to the government,” he rep-lied to a journalist’s question about the prospects for the Afghan leadership.
Biden suggested that the Afghan authorities face new rounds of negotiations with the Taliban movement, which is taking control of all new territories of the country. The President also advised the government to look for opportunities to expand support among the people, solving various internal problems.
