Germany thanks Uzbekistan for help in Kabul evacuations

By Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AA) – Uzbekistan and Germany on Monday agreed to continue close cooperation on issues related to the situation in Afghanistan.

Discussions on the matter were held between Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and his visiting German counterpart Heiko Maas in the capital Tashkent, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Maas thanked Uzbekistan for its support during the evacuation of German citizens and other foreign nationals from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, the statement said.

The two sides exchanged views in detail over the latest developments in Afghanistan, along with discussions on relations between Uzbekistan and Germany.

Last week, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also discussed the evacuation issue.

That was followed by several German evacuation flights bringing people to Tashkent from Kabul, where thousands of people have been waiting for a way out since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara