Washington, Aug 23 (Agency) The United States is well aware of the desire by the Taliban (banned in Russia) to see the US evacuation mission completed by the end of August and intends to stick to that deadline, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday. “We are well aware of the state of desire by the Taliban to have this mission completed by the 31st of August.
I will tell you that we too are still planning on completing it by the 31st of August,” Kirby said during a press briefing. The Taliban said earlier on Monday that it will not give the United States or the United Kingdom any extra time to complete evacuating from Afghanistan, referring to August 31 as the “red line” that would bring about consequences if it is crossed.