NATO chief says Kabul airport should remain open for evacuations

The head of NATO stressed the importance of "keeping Kabul airport open" on Tuesday to continue evacuations.

Jens Stoltenberg said at a virtual G7 summit that "several hundred NATO staff and contractors have been providing critical services, such as air traffic control, fuel supply, and communications at the airport."

He stressed NATO's "coordinating role" in evacuating people as effectively as possible.

"It was important that gains made by the Afghan people in the past 20 years with the considerable support of the whole international community are preserved," he said, according to a statement by the alliance.

Recalling NATO's main priority of making sure that Afghanistan does not become a platform for "international terrorists," Stoltenberg underlined that there have been no terror attacks on NATO allies organized from Afghanistan since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the US.

NATO allies would continue to combat international terrorism and ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a haven for terror groups, he said, adding that the terror threat could re-emerge.