Should Biden have chosen to ignore the Taliban's insistence that US forces leave by his self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline, direct hostilities with the group were highly likely to occur.

China shares a border with Afghanistan in its Northwest Xinjiang region, terrorist groups that once gathered in Afghanistan, including the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), posed threats to China’s national security.

FM Qureshi said that he invited FM Heiko so he could better assess the situation on the ground.

The UNSC meeting prevailed under the Indian presidency had formulated a resolution on Afghanistan, demanding the Taliban to abide by its pledges, but China and Russia abstained seeing the loopholes within it. Once more, this debacle strengthens the China-Russian cooperation in the region, showing their likemindedness and resolve on Afghanistan.

The transition presents an enormous test for the Islamists in a desperately poor, diplomatically isolated country where deep-seated political and social problems have been compounded by more than four decades of war.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid led a group of officials onto the runway, his usual stoic expression replaced by a broad grin.

The Taliban will soon disclose their plans for the governance of Afghanistan now that the US withdrawal is completed.

More than 123,000 people, including 6,000 American citizens, have been safely flown out of Afghanistan, according to Blinken.

Macron had raised hopes of more concrete proposals in comments published in the weekly Journal du Dimanche over the weekend.

Borrell said the crisis in Afghanistan, sparked by the withdrawal of US troops, had highlighted the need for the EU to have its own military capacity.

A devastating suicide bomb attack claimed by IS outside Kabul airport on Thursday killed scores of people who were hoping to flee the country, as well as 13 US service members.

Insurance rates for flying into Afghanistan had “skyrocketed at prices we have never seen before” in the 12 hours since the blast.