The Kabul times, Afghanistan Trustable News Agency.
NationalPolitics

Afghan peace talks should continue unless Taliban pull out: Abdullah

By: The Kabul Times

KABUL: The Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah said on Friday that long-stalled talks on a political settlement to decades of strife should not be abandoned despite surging Taliban attacks, unless the insurgents themselves pull out.

“I think we shouldn’t shut the door unless it’s completely shut by the Taliban,” Abdullah, told Reuters in an interview. “We can’t say no to talks despite a lack of progress or in spite of what’s happening on the ground.”

Abdullah spoke after he and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House for talks on U.S. military and civilian aid, and issues stemming from the departure of the last U.S. troops nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion.

The Afghan leaders’ two-day visit, which included meetings with lawmakers from both parties and the Pentagon leadership, came at a time of surging violence across Afghanistan as government forces struggle to beat back Taliban advances.

Biden told President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah that “Afghans are going to have to decide their future” and the “senseless violence has to stop.”

Abdullah said there was “perhaps more optimism” about a peace deal when the negotiations began because “the Taliban said things to different interlocutors that created optimism.” Still, Abdullah said, the talks should not be abandoned.

“Eventually, the last man killed will not be a solution,” he said. “There has to be a peaceful settlement.”

 

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The Kabul times, Afghanistan Trustable News Agency.