WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is acknowledging that the collapse of the Afghan government occurred much faster than his administration expected.

The president said in Monday evening remarks at the White House, “The truth is this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”

Afghanistan erupted into disarray as the Taliban swept across the country in recent days, taking the capital of Kabul this weekend as the United States has been attempting to withdraw its forces, diplomats, allies and Afghans who worked with the coalition over the course of the 20 year war.

Yet the president said that the rapid end of the Afghan government only vindicates his choice to end the war.

Biden said: “American troops cannot and should not be fighting the war, and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.”

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DUBLIN – Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called on the international community to play its "full part" in facilitating refugees and providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Mr Martin said he was "deeply concerned" by the unfolding situation in the country and that the pace of developments had "taken many by surprise".

The UN Security Council, of which Ireland is a member, met to discuss the situation on Monday, while the EU Foreign Affairs Council is to meet on Tuesday.

The Taoiseach said he is in close contact with Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, and they will "continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming days".

Ireland has announced the provision of up to 150 additional humanitarian visas for Afghans under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).

This is in addition to 45 visas already approved in recent days for Afghans in similar circumstances, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

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PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron that France would not abandon Afghans who worked for his country — from translators to kitchen staff, as well as artists, activists and others under threat from the Taliban.

Macron said that protecting those who helped France over the years is an “absolute urgency,” adding that two military transport planes, with special forces, were due to arrive in Kabul “in the coming hours.”

France has already pulled out some 1,400 Afghan employees and families, and evacuated citizens on a charter flight in July. Paris withdrew all its soldiers from Afghanistan after 13 years by December 2014, but continued work with civil society.

The French president vowed that the fight against “Islamic terrorism in all its forms” would not end.

“Afghanistan cannot again become the sanctuary for terrorism that it was,” Macron said.

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KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban official said in a news conference at the Afghan presidential palace that he had been held for eight years by the U.S. at the Guantanamo Bay detention center before he was released under former President George W. Bush.

Gholam Ruhani was among 13 Afghan prisoners released in December 2007. A military review panel had recommended he be transferred out of U.S. custody after concluded he posed a “medium” risk to the U.S. and its allies. He was one of 485 prisoners sent back to their home countries from Guantanamo under the Bush administration.

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BLUFFTON, South Carolina — A Republican congressman who served in the air force in Afghanistan says both the Trump and the Biden administration are to blame for what is happening in Kabul now.

Adam Kinzinger, from Illinois, spoke to The Associated Press about the dramatic scenes from Kabul’s airport on Monday, with “people falling off of a C17 aircraft” in the mad scramble to get out. He says: “This is going to make Saigon look like Disney World in comparison.”

Kinzinger added that the “impact to America’s reputation” would also be considerable and that “this is an embarrassment to our country.”

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ANKARA, Turkey — The leader of Turkey’s main nationalist party, allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, says he sees no reason for Ankara to withdraw its troops or diplomats from Afghanistan, insisting that Turkey’s presence there is “legitimate, friendly and peaceful.”

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Action Party also said on Monday that the presence of ethnically Turkic groups in Afghanistan “imposes a responsibility on Turkey.”

On the threat of a possible Afghan migrants making their way to Turkey, Bahceli said the government should “consider every option, including negotiating with the Taliban” to prevent an influx.

“It is not possible for Turkey to digest irregular migration originating from Afghanistan,” he said.

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GENEVA — A top aviation industry association says airlines are avoiding the airspace over Afghanistan — a key route for travel between Europe and Asia — which could raise costs for airlines.

The International Air Transport Association says Afghan airspace no longer has operations from a civilian air traffic service.

IATA said on Monday that countries near Afghanistan have indicated they can accommodate additional traffic. It said that “the use of alternative routes through these states will support safe and secure operations, but will have time, operational and fuel impacts upon airlines.”

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BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the latest developments in Afghanistan “bitter, dramatic and awful.”

Merkel told reporters on Monday night that the “breathtaking speed” with which the Taliban have taken over is especially bitter for the “millions of Afghans who supported a more liberal society and who counted on the support of the Western countries when it comes to democracy, education, women’s rights and who also had achieved important progress.”

Merkel said the development was also bitter “for Germany and the other allied nations who fought against terrorism under the lead of the United States and NATO in Afghanistan for 20 years after the terror attacks of September 11.”

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LONDON — The office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he has spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

Johnson said he planned to host a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven leaders on Afghanistan in the next few days, Downing Street said.

“He stressed the need for the international community to come together and take a unified approach on Afghanistan, both in terms of recognizing any future government and in working to prevent a humanitarian and refugee crisis,” his office said in a statement.

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UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council is calling for an immediate halt to hostilities in Afghanistan and establishment of a new government “that is united, inclusive and representative” and that also includes women.

The council said in its first statement since the Taliban takeover that “institutional continuity and adherence to Afghanistan’s international obligations, as well as the safety and security of all Afghan and international citizens, must be ensured.”

Council members “called for an immediate end to the violence in Afghanistan” and the “restoration of security, civil and constitutional order,” as well as urgent talks to resolve the current crisis of authority and find a resolution “through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process.”

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WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister says the country is sending planes to Afghanistan to evacuate translators and other people who have helped Poland over the years.

“Our priority now is to ensure the safety of all those who are associated with Poland in Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, adding that “some these activities must, for obvious reasons, remain secret.”

He said that more planes than necessary will be sent and that Poland will be in a position to help other allies evacuate people as well.

He said Poland would do its best to “everyone who has helped Poland over the years, whether as a translator or in any other form of assistance” as humanely as possible.

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Slovenia’s right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa has described the deadly chaos in Afghanistan and the handover of modern weapons to the Taliban as the “greatest defeat for NATO in history.”

Jansa tweeted on Monday that leaving Afghan allies to the Taliban “terror” has been a “shameful act.” All this is a “symbol of the end of an era,” said Jansa, who is known as a backer of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Biden administration and much of the international community have been stunned at the Taliban blitz and the speed with which the insurgents seized power, two weeks before the U.S. is set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — A Hungarian official on Monday criticized the pullout of American-led forces from Afghanistan and said Hungary will not take in refugees fleeing the country after its takeover by the Taliban.

Levente Magyar, a state secretary with Hungary’s foreign ministry, told state news agency MTI that the government would not make Hungarians pay for the “flawed geopolitical decision” of the U.S. military withdrawal by accepting refugees “without any kind of restrictions.”

Hungary’s right-wing government is a staunch opponent of immigration, and in 2015 built a fence along its southern border in response to an influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa.

That fence would be used to deter a potential wave of refugees from Afghanistan, Magyar said.

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MOSCOW -- The Russian embassy in Kabul alleged Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has fled from Kabul with four cars and a helicopter full of cash, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

The report quoted embassy spokesman Nikita Ishchenko as saying that “the collapse of the regime ... is most eloquently characterized by how Ghani escaped from Afghanistan: four cars were filled with money, they tried to shove another part of the money into a helicopter, but not everything fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac.”

Ghani left Kabul on Sunday as the Taliban swept into the Afghan capital. Media reports suggested that the president went to the neighboring Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, but there was no official confirmation of his whereabouts.

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BRUSSELS — NATO envoys are set to meet Tuesday to discuss security developments in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the strife-torn country over the weekend.

The 30-nation military organization said Monday that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair Tuesday morning’s meeting of ambassadors, will hold a news conference after it, at 1300 GMT.

NATO took charge of international security operations in Afghanistan in 2003 – its first major mission outside Europe and North America – aiming to help stabilize the government, build up local security forces and remove a potential rear-base for terrorist groups.

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s political and military leadership on Monday called for a political settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan, a day after the Taliban swept into Kabul after the government collapsed there.

The appeals comes shortly after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, government officials and army chiefs met to review the latest situation in Afghanistan.

At the meeting of National Security Committee, Khan directed that all possible facilities be made available to repatriate Pakistanis, diplomats, journalists and staff of international organizations seeking to leave Afghanistan, according to a government statement.

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NEW DELHI —India’s Foreign Ministry has said the suspension of commercial operations at the Kabul airport has forced the Indian government to pause its repatriation efforts but the process would restart once the flights are resumed.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry said it is in touch with some Indian nationals in Afghanistan who wish to return to the country and that it has been issuing periodic advisories for their safety and security.

The ministry said it is in “constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities” and it will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan.

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ROME — An Afghan-Italian doctor who was evacuated from Kabul had harsh words on the West’s decision to leave Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban after 20 years.

Dr. Arif Oryakhail told reporters at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport on Monday, “We left our colleagues to die.” He was among some 20 Afghans who were on an Italian military flight also carrying about 50 embassy staff, including Italy’s ambassador, and other Italian citizens.

“We left Kabul destroyed, abandoned,’’ Oryakhail said, his voice breaking. “The big fear is for our colleagues who worked with us. The Taliban are going from house to house looking for them.”

They include doctors and nurses at clinics that the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation set up around Afghanistan.

“They believed in us,’’ Oryakhail said. He called the West’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan “totally failed,” and of the country’s future he said: “You ask me about the future? Ask those who failed.”

Italian Premier Mario Draghi underlined in a statement on Monday that “Italy’s commitment is to protect the Afghan citizens who worked with us on our mission.”

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch defense minister says a Dutch military aircraft is en route to Afghanistan to evacuate embassy staff, their families and Afghan translators who worked with the Netherlands.

Ank Bijleveld says in a tweet on Monday that more flights are planned “in part due to the uncertain situation.”

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PRAGUE — A humanitarian organization that has been operating in Afghanistan since 2001 is facing uncertain times with the Taliban back in power.

The deteriorating security situation forced the Prague-based People in Need organization to evacuate their foreign employees and halt all their activities.

“We’re facing an uncertain future,” People in Need regional director told the Associated Press. The key is the safety of their local cooperators.

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Islamic militant group Hamas has congratulated the Taliban for their swift takeover of Afghanistan and the end to the United States’ 20-year presence in the country.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas welcomed “the defeat of the American occupation on all Afghan land” and praised what it said was the Taliban’s “courageous leadership on this victory, which was the culmination of its long struggle over the past 20 years.”

Hamas, a Palestinian group that opposes Israel’s existence, has governed the Gaza Strip since taking over the area in 2007, a year after it won a Palestinian election. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union.

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DUBAI — Doctors Without Borders says its operations across Afghanistan have not been affected by the recent developments in Kabul.

While many foreigners have fled the country, the group — known by its French initials, MSF — continues to have some international staff on the ground. It also has more than 2,300 Afghan colleagues spread out across five Taliban-held provinces: Kandahar, Herat, Kunduz, Khost and Helmand.

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BEIJING — China says its embassy remains open in Kabul and expressed a willingness to support its reconstruction.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying did not answer explicitly when asked whether Beijing would recognize the Taliban as the new government but said that China would respect the choice of the Afghan people.

She noted the Taliban pledges to negotiate the establishment of an inclusive Islamic government and to ensure the safety of both Afghans and foreign missions. China, she added, hopes that would “ensure a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan.”

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TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday called for national reconciliation in neighboring Afghanistan.

The official IRNA news agency quoted Raisi as saying Iran will support efforts to restore stability in Afghanistan as a first priority. He called Iran “a brother and neighboring nation” to Afghanistan. He also described the Americans' rapid pullout as a “military failure” that should “turn to an opportunity for restoring life, security and stable peace.”

Iran shares nearly 600 miles of borders with Afghanistan and is home to about 800,000 registered Afghan refugees and more than two million undocumented Afghans. The influx began after Soviet forces entered Afghanistan in 1979.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is sending three transport and air-to-air refueling jets with 250 military personnel to repatriate more than 130 Australians and their families from Afghanistan, officials said on Monday.

Australia is also working to evacuate an undisclosed number of refugees, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.

The support comes as the U.S. and other nations scramble to evacuate diplomats and Afghan employees and their families from Kabul. The Taliban a day earlier toppled the Western-backed government.