UK Says Evacuation Window At Kabul Airport Unlikely To Be Extended

US President Joe Biden will face pressure to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate thousands seeking to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan when he meets Group of Seven leaders at a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

Western governments are unlikely to extend the evacuation window to allow their citizens and Afghans more time to fly out of Kabul airport, Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace said. U.S. President Joe Biden will face pressure to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate thousands seeking to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan when he meets Group of Seven leaders at a virtual meeting on Tuesday. The Taliban have said they will reject any demands by Western forces to extend the deadline to allow more time to complete the evacuation operation. Biden said on Sunday that he would not like to extend the deadline for evacuations, but that talks were ongoing.