Kabul: The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it has accepted former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani "on humanitarian grounds", after he fled his country amid a Taliban takeover.
"The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds," the ministry said in a brief statement.
Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban closed in on Kabul, before the insurgents walked into the Afghan capital unopposed.
In a Facebook post, Ghani said the "Taliban have won" and that he fled to avoid a "flood of bloodshed".
Earlier, unconfirmed reports said that the 72-year-old had fled to Oman, Tajikistan, or Uzbekistan.
Russia's diplomatic mission in Kabul had alleged that Ghani had fled the country with vehicles full of cash.
The embassy had said that Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in, the RIA news agency had reported.
Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA: "Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac."
Ischenko confirmed his comments to a global news wire, citing "witnesses" as the source of his information, Al Jazeera reported.
Afghanistan Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi had in a tweet lamented in an apparent reference to Ghani and his associates that they "tied our hands behind our backs and sold the homeland, damn the rich man and his gang".
Ghani was elected in 2014 on promises to remake Afghanistan.
The Taliban capped a staggeringly fast rout of Afghanistan's major cities in just 10 days, achieved with relatively little bloodshed, following two decades of war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
The collapse came as US President Joe Biden moved to complete the withdrawal of US troops.
Biden admitted Monday the Taliban advance had unfolded quicker than expected but defended his decision to leave, and criticised Ghani's government.
US-led forces invaded the country following the September 11 attacks in 2001, in response to the Taliban giving sanctuary to Al-Qaeda, and toppled them.
The UAE is one of three nations, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which recognised the previous hardline Taliban regime, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
This time around, the Taliban have sought to project an air of restraint and moderation.
(To be updated)
