Sanchez stays on holidays in Lanzarote

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez follows the Spanish evacuation operation from Afghanistan live from Lanzarote.

Sanchez appears to have set up office in his luxury getaway palace on the island of Lanzarote.

He is the only major European leader who has not returned to their capital city since the Taliban re-took control of Afghanistan.

According to La Moncloa, Sanchez “has held a meeting to monitor the repatriation of the Spanish contingent in Afghanistan, together with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, and Defence, Margarita Robles.”

Meanwhile and operation to rescue Spaniards and Afghans from Kabul is underway.

The first repatriation plane of the Spanish Armed Forces has returned from Kabul with both Spaniards and Afghan collaborators on board. The plane arrived safely at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base in Madrid this morning, Thursday, August 19.

The Spanish plane, an A400M, landed in Kabul on Wednesday at around midday according defence sources speaking to La Sexta. The plane had left from Zaragoza and had gone on to make a stop in Dubai before heading to Kabul.

The plane spent about an hour in Kabul before starting the return flight. This first flight has not seen the ambassador evacuated as the ambassador is set to remain in Kabul until the end of the rescue operations.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, please remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.