White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday that the United States did not offer any terms to secure commitments from the Taliban not to interfere in the Afghan evacuation after Aug. 31.
President Joe Biden stated Tuesday that he intends to honor his original Aug. 31 for a total troop withdrawal, and administration officials, including Psaki and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, spent Wednesday clarifying that the U.S. will still assist Americans, Afghan allies, and third-country nationals evacuate the country after the military withdrawal. Blinken additionally outlined just before the start of Wednesday’s White House briefing that the Taliban have committed not to interfere in that humanitarian mission.
THE TALIBAN ARE ‘IN CONTROL’: SECRETARY BLINKEN UPDATES ON STATE OF AFGHAN EVACUATION
“No. This is not a ‘quid pro quo,'” Psaki stated when a reporter asked her Wednesday if the U.S. had floated any financial incentives to secure commitments from the Taliban. “We have laid out clearly what our expectations are about moving American citizens and our Afghan partners and allies out of the country, and that’s what we’re working to deliver on.”
“Right now, our focus and our priority is getting American citizens evacuated and our Afghan partners evacuated,” she stated earlier in the briefing. “And I would say, given the numbers that we’ve outlined and briefed for you, that we’ve made a great deal of progress in doing exactly that.”
The Biden administration and other U.S. allies did take several steps just last week to halt financial aid destined for the Afghan government and freeze billions in Afghan government reserve funds to prevent the Taliban from gaining access to those accounts.
The International Monetary Fund estimated that Afghanistan had roughly $9.4 billion in reserve accounts located outside of the country, and a Biden administration official told the Washington Post that “any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.”
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You can watch Wednesday’s entire briefing below.
