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After the US President pledged to reduce the number of US forces to 4,000 in Afghanistan in a short period of time, a team representing the Afghan government and the US Secretary of State heads to Doha for talks. for “peace” with the Taliban.
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Pompeo shortly after taking off from Washington: Afghans are expected to sit at the table together for thorny discussions on Saturday morning on how to move their country forward
Afghan officials said a team representing the government went to the Qatari capital Doha on Friday, ahead of the scheduled start of peace talks with the Taliban on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the “historic” peace talks as he himself headed to Doha for the opening ceremony.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to push the Taliban and the Afghan government into negotiations, which would pave the way for the US to finally withdraw from its longest war.
“Today we go to Doha with our hopes and confidence in ourselves to create an atmosphere in Afghanistan in which weapons remain silent, the values of the republic are ingrained and the Afghan people get what they deserve,” said Nader Naderi, the top Afghan negotiator for the team that left Kabul on a commercial plane.
Pompeo is also scheduled to arrive in Doha on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s opening ceremony, after which actual talks between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected to begin, as stipulated in the February peace agreement. between the Taliban and Washington.
Pompeo said at the time from Doha that his country “will closely monitor the Taliban’s commitment to the deal.”
The United States and the Afghan government also issued a joint statement before signing the US agreement with the Afghan Taliban movement in the Qatari capital Doha, saying it would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops within 135 days. after the agreement with the Taliban.
The statement indicated that the United States would refrain from using force and interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and would withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan within 14 months.
On Thursday, Trump pledged to reduce the number of US forces to 4,000 in Afghanistan in a short period of time, noting that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would leave Washington on a “historic trip” to Doha.
“It took us longer than I expected to get here, but we hope that on Saturday morning the Afghans will come to the table together to have thorny discussions about how to move their country forward,” Pompeo told reporters shortly after taking off from Washington. Thursday night.
It’s “something really historic,” he added.
The Taliban rejected direct dialogue with the government, calling it “powerless.”
Pompeo’s arrival in Doha coincides with the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States that led to the US military invasion of Afghanistan with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban, who housed “Osama bin Laden,” the leader. of Al Qaeda, accused of planning those attacks.
A diplomatic source in Kabul said the date for the start of the talks had been set not to coincide with this anniversary, as a plane was carrying 6 prisoners, who demanded that the Afghan government release them on Thursday.
Some Western governments opposed their release, but it was agreed that they would remain under surveillance in Qatar as a compromise.
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