US Secretary of State Blinken held separate calls with his Russian, Chinese counterparts to discuss the crisis UK’s Boris Johnson plans virtual G7 leaders meeting on Afghanistan UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Monday called for an immediate end to violence in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country and inclusive talks to form a new Afghan government that includes women. In its first statement since the Taliban a day earlier ousted the US-backed President Ashraf Ghani, who has since fled Afghanistan, the council stressed that Afghan territory should not be used by the Taliban or any other group “to threaten or attack any country” and said the international community must ensure it does not become a breeding ground for terrorism. The UN’s most powerful body called for “urgent talks to resolve the current crisis of authority in the country and to arrive at a peaceful settlement through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation.” Following an emergency meeting in New York, the 15-member council said a new government must be “united, inclusive and representative — including with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to violence and urged the international community to unite to ensure that the human rights of all Afghans are respected. He said he was “particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan who fear a return to the darkest days” in the 1990s when the Taliban ruled and barred girls for getting an education and imposed draconian measures on women. “The world is following events in Afghanistan with a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead,” Guterres said, and with the country’s future and the hopes and dreams of a generation of young Afghans in the balance, the coming days “will be pivotal.” Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador Ghulam Isaczai said “there is no time for the blame game anymore” and echoed Guterres’ calls for the council to call for an immediate halt to violence and respect for human rights, and to “prevent Afghanistan descending into a civil war and becoming a pariah state.” He told the council he was “speaking on behalf of millions of people in Afghanistan, whose fate hangs in the balance and are faced with an extremely uncertain future,” including “millions of Afghan girls and women who are about to lose their freedom to go to school, to work and to participate in the political, economic and social life of the country,” as well as human rights defenders, journalists, academics, civil servants and former security personnel. Isaczai, who was appointed by Ghani’s government said “Kabul residents are reporting the Taliban have already started house-to-house searches in some neighborhoods, registering names and looking for people in their target list. There are already reports of targeted killings and looting in the city.” “Kabul residents are living in absolute fear right now,” Isaczai added and appealed on the UN chief and the council not to recognize the restoration of the Islamic Emirate that the Taliban may impose. Isaczai also called for the urgent establishment of “a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of those at risk of Taliban’s retributions and attacks” and for neighboring countries to open their borders to people trying to escape and for humanitarian goods entering the country. The Security Council statement, drafted by Estonia and Norway, called for “an end to all abuses and violations” of human rights and international humanitarian law, without singling out the Taliban, and for immediate access for UN and other humanitarian personnel to provide aid, “including across conflict lines.” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged that more than 500 tons of humanitarian aid — which the UN World Food Program says is sitting at border crossings taken by the Taliban — be allowed into Afghanistan immediately. “All Afghan nationals and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so safely,” Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the US promises “to be generous in resettling Afghans” and “we need to all do more.” She said: “We also call on all parties to prevent terrorism, and we must all ensure Afghanistan cannot ever, ever again be a base for terrorism.” Ireland’s UN Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason called on the Security Council to stand with the women of Afghanistan amid “multiple and credible reports of summary executions, forced marriage and of sexual and gender-based violence.” “The Taliban have reportedly said that women have nothing to fear from them,” she told the council. “Telling the international community what it wants to hear will fool no one. We will not turn a blind eye to the truth.” China has said it is ready for “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan’s next government while Moscow has confirmed it had “established working contacts with representatives of the new authorities.” Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the Taliban’s quick defeat of government forces “took everyone by surprise.” “Currently we believe that there is no point in panicking... a widespread bloodbath among civilians has been avoided. We urge all Afghan parties to refrain from hostilities and to foster a settlement peacefully,” he said. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday discussed the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government with China and Russia, frequent US adversaries that have moved quickly to work with the Taliban. The State Department said Blinken spoke separately with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the security situation and efforts to evacuate people to safety. The State Department provided few other details. Russia said Blinken and Lavrov discussed Moscow’s outreach to various Afghan political forces that is aimed at “helping ensure stability and public order.” The two “agreed to continue consultations with the participation of China, Pakistan and other interested nations to establish the right conditions to begin an inclusive inter-Afghan dialogue under the new conditions,” a Russian foreign ministry statement said. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Afghanistan should not become again the “sanctuary of terrorism” that it was until the US-led invasion two decades ago. “This is key for international security and peace... we will do everything for Russia, the United States and Europe to cooperate efficiently as our interests are the same,” Macron said in a televised address from his summer residence. He described the situation as an “important challenge for our own security” and a “fight against a common enemy of terrorism.” “Our actions will above all be aimed at fighting actively against Islamist terrorism in all its forms,” said Macron. He said the European Union would set up an initiative to thwart the large migrant flows now expected from the country, cracking down on illegal people smuggling rings that risk emerging. France, Germany and other EU countries would put together a response that was “robust, coordinated and united” to prevent irregular migration by harmonizing criteria and showing European solidarity. “We must anticipate and protect ourselves against significant irregular migratory flows that would endanger the migrants and risk encouraging trafficking of all kinds,” he said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to host a virtual meeting of G7 leaders to discuss the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, his office said on Monday, as the government stepped up efforts to evacuate nationals from Kabul. Johnson told Macron in a call that he planned to host a Group of Seven meeting in the coming days and the two leaders agreed that Britain and France should work together at the UN Security Council, including on a possible joint-resolution. Britain, which had initially committed 600 members of the armed forces to evacuate British nationals and former British staff, will shortly have 900 troops in Kabul. Further personnel will be deployed in the region and be able to move to Afghanistan quickly if needed, the Ministry of Defense said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also told reporters on Monday that the government could impose sanctions and withhold aid on Afghanistan if needed, depending on the conduct of the Taliban. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman echoed that sentiment Monday, saying the question of whether there can be a dialogue with the Taliban needs to be discussed internationally. “We do not have any illusions about the Taliban and the essence of their movement,” said Steffen Seibert, the spokesman. EU foreign ministers will hold emergency talks via videolink Tuesday on the situation in Afghanistan as European nations scramble to evacuate personnel from the country, officials said.