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U.S. secretary of state arrives at Old Doha Airport in Qatar for Afghan crisis talks
Updated 10:06, 07-Sep-2021
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) arrives at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) arrives at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) is welcomed upon his arrival by MFA Director of Protocol Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) is welcomed upon his arrival by MFA Director of Protocol Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) fist-bumps Ambassador John Desrocher (L) as MFA Director of Protocol Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo looks on upon Blinken's arrival at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) fist-bumps Ambassador John Desrocher (L) as MFA Director of Protocol Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo looks on upon Blinken's arrival at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd-R) walks alongside U.S. Ambassador John Desrocher (R) upon arrival at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd-R) walks alongside U.S. Ambassador John Desrocher (R) upon arrival at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Doha, September 6, 2021. /CFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Qatar Monday ahead of their meeting with Qatari leaders to thank the nation for its support in the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan and to discuss the future of U.S.-Afghanistan relations.

Shortly before landing, an official disclosed that four Americans had left Afghanistan with Taliban knowledge in the first departures arranged by Washington since its chaotic military pullout. 

The four U.S. citizens left by land and were greeted by U.S. diplomats, said the senior official, without specifying to which country they had crossed. "The Taliban did not impede them," the official said.

Blinken, accompanied by Austin, is the most senior U.S. official to visit the region since the Taliban's lightning takeover of Afghanistan on August 15. 

He was not due to meet any of the Taliban's Doha representatives but State Department official Dean Thompson said Washington would continue to engage with the Islamist group "to ensure our messaging with them is clear."

"We are thankful for Qatar's close collaboration on Afghanistan," the State Department said ahead of Blinken's arrival in Doha. 

Blinken's team praised Doha's "indispensable support in facilitating the transit of U.S. citizens, embassy Kabul personnel, at-risk Afghans, and other evacuees from Afghanistan through Qatar."

Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. airbase, has been the gateway for 55,000 people airlifted out of Afghanistan, nearly half the total number evacuated by U.S.-led forces after the Taliban's lightning takeover. 

Before his arrival, Blinken said that in Qatar he would "express our deep gratitude for all that they're doing to support the evacuation effort" and meet rescued Afghans. 

He will also meet U.S. diplomats, after Washington relocated its embassy in Kabul to Doha, along with a number of allies including Britain and the Netherlands. 

The State Department said Blinken would discuss with Qatar its efforts, alongside Turkey, to reopen Kabul's ramshackle airport – essential to fly in badly needed humanitarian aid and to evacuate remaining Afghans. 

Qatar invited the Taliban to open a political office in Doha in 2013, subsequently hosting talks between Washington and the Taliban that concluded in 2020 with a troop withdrawal agreement. It was followed by direct negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government. 

(With input from AFP)

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