Boris Johnson: Military Intervention in Afghanistan is Not Being Considered

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding a meeting of the COBRA emergency committee over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

No military solution is being considered following the gains made by the Taliban in Afghanistan in recent days, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

"I think the idea of a military or a combat solution is not one that we should be pursuing right now," Johnson told the Sky News broadcaster.

At the same time, answering the question about the possibility of the return of the UK military to Afghanistan, he pointed out that "we have got to be realistic" about the ability of the UK or any other force to use military intervention in the situation.

"What we certainly can do is work with all our partners in the region and around the world who share interest with us in preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a breeding ground for terror," Johnson said.

According to the prime minister, London intends to use diplomatic and political leverage for this.

He added that a team of Home Office officials will be sent to relocate Afghans who worked for British forces in the country. 

This comes after earlier in the day UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that every option was on the table if Afghan militants were to harbour al-Qaeda* in their country.

"I'm going to leave every option open... The Taliban [banned in Russia] have a message from last time - you start hosting al Qaeda, you start attacking the West, or countries like that, we could be back," he told the LBC radio station.

A military solution, however, would not solve the Central Asian nation's problems long term, the minister noted.

"I could send 10,000 people, we could go in, we could do it for two, three years, we have the forces to do that but that is not how you are going to fix Afghanistan," he warned.

The Taliban have made huge territorial gains over the past week, seizing about 15 of 34 provincial capitals and securing the road to Kabul. The insurgency swept the country after the United States and its allies announced they would withdraw troops from Afghanistan by the end of August.

*Taliban and Al-Qaeda are terrorist organisations banned in Russia.