UK PM Speaks w/German Chancellor On Afghan, Wants G7 Meeting

Downing Street spokesman talks on conversation between UK PM Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "The Prime Minister spoke to German Chancellor Merkel this morning about the situation in Afghanistan. They agreed that global cooperation was crucial, both on the urgent need to evacuate foreign nationals and others from Afghanistan, and the longer-term importance of preventing a humanitarian crisis in the country and region. Both leaders resolved to use their bilateral and multilateral influence to encourage international partners to adopt a joined-up approach to the challenges ahead. The Prime Minister also stressed the need to agree shared international standards on human rights that any future Taliban government in Afghanistan will be held to by the international community. The Prime Minister outlined his intention to convene G7 leaders for a virtual meeting to discuss this at the earliest possibility."

• Convening a G7 meeting may prove difficult, especially with regards to the United States, where President Biden has taken a rigid approach to the collapse of the Afghan gov't and the US reaction.
• Biden's speech last night on the situation was praised by some as an example of realpolitik in knowing that sustained US presence in Afghanistan might not result in any concrete improvement in the political situation there. Others claimed it echoed former President Donald Trump's 'America first' rhetoric when it comes to US foreign policy, presenting an isolationist case and reneging on the US' place as the most prominent global advocate of democracy.