US, Qatar discuss future on Afghan policy, regional security – Blinken

Washington, Aug 17 (UNI/Sputnik) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani explored areas for the two nations to cooperate on policy toward Afghanistan and other efforts to help stabilize the region, the State Department said in a readout of the conversation on Tuesday.
“Secretary Blinken and the Foreign Minister discussed the close collaboration on Afghanistan and other bilateral efforts to advance regional security,” the readout said.
Blinken also thanked Al-Thani for Qatar’s assistance in facilitating the transit of US citizens and personnel at the American Embassy in Kabul through Qatar, the readout added.
Chaos during the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan triggered the evacuation of the embassy over the weekend and prompted the temporary deployment of thousands of American forces to facilitate the departure of US citizens as the Taliban regained control of the nation.
Qatar hosted a series of inconclusive peace talks between the US and Taliban prior to the US withdrawal.
In a separate conversation with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Blinken also thanked Kuwait for facilitating the transit of departing US citizens and Kabul embassy personnel, the State Department said.