news
Share icon

Share

Biden ‘ignored Boris Johnson’s calls for 36 hours’ amid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Published 16:01 20 Aug 2021 BST

Kieran Galpin
Biden ‘ignored Boris Johnson’s calls for 36 hours’ amid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Homenews

Biden aired Johnson for 36 hours- but did the PM try Snapchat?

According to recent reports, US President Joe Biden dodged Prime Minister Boris Johnson's calls for 36 hours between Monday and Tuesday. Johnson tried to reach Biden on Monday morning, UK time but wasn’t able to get him on the phone until 10pm Tuesday (5pm Washington time), according to The Daily Telegraph. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1428058056672247813 Though the White House has made no official comment as of yet, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that the president had “not yet spoken with any other world leaders”. “Myself, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, several other senior members of the team have been engaged on a regular basis with foreign counterparts, and we intend to do so in the coming days,” he added. The British PM allegedly urged the President not to throw away “gains made in Afghanistan,” despite Biden essentially washing his hands of the situation on Monday, saying: “ [the] mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation-building.” A White House readout of the call states that Biden and Johnson “discussed the need for continued close coordination among allies and democratic partners on Afghanistan policy going forward” and agreed to hold a virtual meeting with other leaders of the G7 nations next week. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1427712487072227337 Speaking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, the president defended his decision to withdraw all remaining US troops from Afghanistan. In the interview, he said: "We're going to go back in hindsight but the idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing — I don't know how that happens." Related links: Biden’s statement ‘washing hands’ of Afghanistan labelled ‘one of most shameful in US history’ Trump demands Biden resign ‘in disgrace’ over Taliban’s Afghanistan takeover 12 deaths at Kabul airport confirmed as Taliban urges desperate Afghans to return home
Biden 'ignored Boris Johnson's calls for 36 hours' amid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan