WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with a top Qatari official about the situation in Afghanistan, a spokesman said late on October 17.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken thanked Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, for the Gulf state’s assistance in transiting U.S. citizens and Afghans out of Afghanistan during the Western military pullout from that war-torn country in August.
No further details of the call were immediately released.
The United States and its allies were able to evacuate more than 123,000 foreigners and Afghans out of Kabul between August 14, the day before the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, and August 31, when the U.S. military ended its presence in the country after two decades.
Qatar worked with the Taliban to reopen Kabul's airport amid international efforts to resume operations there to facilitate humanitarian assistance and further evacuations of foreigners and others seeking to flee Taliban rule.