WASHINGTON: The Biden The administration will review the Trump dispensation “peace agreement” with the Taliban To determine whether the insurgent group has reduced attacks in Afghanistan in accordance with its part of the agreement, the White House he said on Friday.
White House officials said President Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib and “made clear the US intention to review” the agreement, specifically whether the Taliban are “abiding by their commitments to sever ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence in Afghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government and other stakeholders. ”
Sullivan, said a White House statement, “underscored that the United States will support the peace process with a robust and regional diplomatic effort, which will aim to help the two sides achieve a lasting and just political settlement and a ceasefire. permanent”. She also spoke about US support for measures to protect the rights of women and minority groups as part of the peace process.
Biden’s move will bring some relief to both Kabul and New Delhi, which feared the Trump administration would slip under the bus by giving away too much in exchange for vague guarantees from the Taliban. Trump’s White House made clear it was in a rush to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan and other theaters as part of the former president’s disdain for Washington’s involvement in “foreign wars,” regardless of US stakes.
Under the agreement signed in February 2020 between Trump and Taliban representatives, the United States and its NATO allies would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months if the Taliban kept their promises, including not allowing Al Qaeda or other militants to operate in the areas it controlled, and to continue the national peace talks.
The deal, based on few guarantees with incomplete guarantees, thrilled Pakistan, which regards Afghanistan as its “strategic depth” and a stage to counter India and assert itself in the region. However, Biden’s review is bolstered by assurance from new Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Washington is still committed to ending this “eternal war,” but also wants to “retain some capacity to deal with any resurgence of terrorism, which is what got us there in the first place. ”
Friday’s events made it clear that the United States would continue to have differences with friends and allies, but would mark the return of a “friendly and respectful” tone, as Mexico characterized the conversation between Biden and Obrador. “It will not always be a perfect alignment with the United States. That is the case with any president, but we are in a situation where we are much more aligned with values and focus. I am looking forward to working with President Biden, “said Canadian Trudeau, affected by Biden’s decision on the first day to remove the Keystone XL pipeline that would help the Canadian economy.
The Biden White House has already indicated that it sees a continuation of good relations with India in line with the bipartisan support that New Delhi has in Washington. “President Biden, who, of course, has visited India many times, respects and values the long, bipartisan and successful relationship between the leaders of India and the United States. Expect a continuation of that, ”White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday, also suggesting that the election of the first Indian-American vice president would help in this.
Biden visited India in 2008 and 2013, and in strange aside, he has twice referred to distant relatives and relatives in India: five Biden in Mumbai who may have descended from his “great, great, great, great grandfather” George Biden, He was captain of the East India Trading Company and settled in India after getting married locally.
.
