UK to turn to China and Russia in bid to thwart further Afghanistan chaos

Britain will this week turn to China and Russia to try to stop Afghanistan sliding further into chaos, after recriminations between London and Washington over US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of American troops.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s government is also working closely with France — with whom relations are strained after Brexit — to try to engineer a UN response to the crisis in Afghanistan…

Downing Street has denied any rift between Johnson and Biden, but the British prime minister’s foreign policy — heavily dependent on the US — has been shaken by the crisis and has forced London to court other capitals.

Johnson, anxious to show that the UK is still relevant as a “convening power” when he chairs a virtual summit of the G7 on Tuesday, tweeted that the group of wealthy nations would co-ordinate efforts “to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people”.