Antony Blinken lands in Doha for Afghanistan crisis talks with Qatar’s emir

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Qatar’s emir in Doha for crisis talks on Afghanistan after the Taliban claimed to have full control over the country.

Blinken, accompanied by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, is the most senior US official to visit the region since the Taliban’s lightning takeover of Afghanistan on August 15.

In his meeting on Monday with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Blinken thanked the Gulf state ruler for “Qatar’s extraordinary support in easing the safe transit of US citizens, our partners, and other Afghans at-risk” during the United States’ chaotic military pull-out from Afghanistan.

They also “discussed other important bilateral issues”, according to a brief State Department statement.

The top diplomat was not expected 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”.

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