Boris Johnson says Taliban must guarantee 'safe passage' for those who want to leave Afghanistan

Boris Johnson said the “number one condition” that G7 leaders were urging from the Taliban was “safe passage” for those who want to leave Afghanistan beyond August 31.

“Today the G7 agreed, we brought them together, and they agreed a road map for future engagement with the Taliban,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters.

“So that if those huge funds are going to be unfrozen eventually for use by the government and people of Afghanistan, then what we’re saying is Afghanistan can’t lurch back into becoming a breeding ground of terror, Afghanistan can’t become a narco state, girls have to be educated up to the age of 18, and so on.

“Those are important things that we value as G7, those are things that unite us in the West, those are things for which we fought for years in Afghanistan, and for which people in this country gave their lives.

“The point that was made today by G7 leaders is that we remain committed to those values and we remain committed to Afghanistan.

“But the number one condition that we are insisting upon is safe passage beyond the 31st, beyond this initial phase, for those who want to leave Afghanistan.”

The Prime Minister also insisted that the UK has 'huge leverage" when engaging with the Taliban.

“I am totally realistic about the Taliban and I don’t think that anybody is going to pretend that this is anything other than a very difficult situation,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters.

“But that doesn’t mean that we should ignore the leverage that we have.

“We want to help with the humanitarian crisis, the difficulties that people in Afghanistan, people fleeing Afghanistan, are going to experience.

“But when it comes to engaging with the Taliban, and engaging with the government in Afghanistan, whatever its exact composition, the G7 has huge leverage.”

In a joint statement released by Downing Street, the G7, for which the UK currently holds the presidency, said: “We express our grave concern about the situation in Afghanistan and call for calm and restraint to ensure the safety and security of vulnerable Afghan and international citizens, and the prevention of a humanitarian crisis.

“We call for adherence to obligations under international human rights law, including the rights of women, girls, and minority groups, and that international humanitarian law is upheld in all circumstances. We honour the significant sacrifices made by the Afghan people, people of our own countries, and countless others, who have worked toward a more peaceful, just and secure future for Afghanistan.

“The Afghan people deserve to live in dignity, peace and security, reflecting the last two decades of their political, economic and social achievements, in particular for women and girls. Afghanistan must never again become a safe haven for terrorism, nor a source of terrorist attacks on others.”