Biden postpones Afghanistan speech amid G7 pressure over withdrawal deadline

(via REUTERS)

President Joe Biden is delaying his address on Afghanistan until 2:00 pm after he faced pushback from other members of the G7 for not pushing back his planned withdrawal date of 31 August.

The news came as Reuters reported that Mr Biden was sticking with his planned deadline for the United States to leave.

Similarly, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby reaffirmed the timeline.

“There’s been no change to the timeline of the mission, which is to have this completed by the end of the month,” he said on Tuesday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron all tried to persuade Mr Biden to extend the time available to evacuate people out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Similarly, European Council President Charles Michel said “several leaders expressed concerns about the timing of August 31,” The Daily Mail reported.