France, Britain to propose 'safe zone' in Kabul

Speaking at a news conference in Baghdad, Macron said that France was in talks with the Taliban to continue evacuations of Afghans on France's list of potential evacuees after the American troops pull out of the country on Tuesday.

Paris: In view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, France and Britain are planning to propose the creation of a 'safe zone' in Kabul at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday. The aim of such a zone is to allow for continued humanitarian operations.

President Emmanuel Macron, who is currently on a visit to Iraq, on Sunday said that France and Paris and London would propose at a Security Council meeting on the crisis in Afghanistan a resolution aimed at defining a safe zone in Kabul under U.N. control.

In an exclusive interview with the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche published Sunday, Macron said that the move will keep the pressure on the Taliban and hold the international community accountable.

It is unclear whether the potential safe zone that Macron spoke of on Saturday would be used for eventual targeted evacuations.

Speaking at a news conference in Baghdad, Macron said that France was in talks with the Taliban to continue evacuations of Afghans on France's list of potential evacuees after the American troops pull out of the country on Tuesday.

One possibility would be to evacuate via Kabul's civilian airport or a neighbouring country, he told the newspaper.

France ended its evacuation flights out of Kabul on Friday night after bringing out 2,834 people, mostly Afghans at risk. Britain ended its operations on Saturday.

(With agency inputs)