Americas

Home page

Americas

Biden says it's up to Afghans to run their country as U.S. leaves

08 July 2021 22:58 (UTC +04:00)

President Joe Biden on Thursday said it is up to the Afghan people alone how they run their country, as he announced the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end on Aug. 31 despite new concerns about the possibility of a civil war, APA reports quoting Reuters.

"We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build," Biden said. "It's the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country."

Biden delivered his most extensive comments to date about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under pressure from critics to give more explanation for his decision to withdraw.

Biden also said U.S. plans to move thousands of Afghan interpreters out of the country in anticipation of the end of the U.S. military mission in the country on Aug. 31.