German FM rules out resigning for misjudging on Afghanistan

Germany’s foreign minister dismissed public calls for his resignation over mishandling the Afghan crisis.

Iran PressEurope: Speaking to newsmagazine Der Spiegel, Heiko Maas stressed that he is not thinking of resigning over his Afghanistan strategy.

Asked whether he had thought about it, Maas said: “In the past few days I have only thought of one thing, namely drawing conclusions from the mistakes we have all made and making sure to get as many people out of Afghanistan as possible."

He added: "That is the damned duty of everyone who has been involved in the developments of the past few days and weeks."

Maas, who only two months ago dismissed suggestions that the Taliban were on the verge of seizing control of Afghanistan, has faced mounting public calls to resign after acknowledging that he "misread the situation.”

"Nobody can seriously deny that there were misjudgments. We have to process all of this. From the specific processes in the last few days and weeks to political questions that arise for us in Germany, but also for the international community," he said.

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