Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he had a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, during which the leaders discussed the withdrawal of American troops from the country by September. He announced this on Wednesday, April 14, in Twitter…
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan respects the US decision and we will work with our American partners to ensure a smooth transition. As we move into the next phase of our partnership, we will continue to work with our US and NATO partners to continue the peace efforts, ”Ghani wrote.
He noted that the security and defense forces of Afghanistan are capable of “fully protecting their people and country.”
On the same day, Biden said that Washington intends to support the peace talks between the Afghan government and the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia), despite the forthcoming withdrawal of American troops from the country.
The day before, on April 13, CNN sources reported that the US President had decided to withdraw the American military contingent from Afghanistan before September 11. At the same time, according to the initial agreements with the Taliban, US troops were supposed to leave Afghanistan on May 1.
The next day, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the postponement of the date for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. As noted by the official representative of the ministry, Maria Zakharova, in Afghanistan there is a possibility of an escalation of the armed conflict in connection with the postponement of the withdrawal of the US Armed Forces from the region.
In February last year, at a ceremony in Qatar, the United States and the radical Taliban signed the first peace agreement in more than 18 years of war, providing for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the beginning of an inter-Afghan dialogue following a prisoner exchange deal.
The Taliban have guaranteed that they will not use the territory of Afghanistan for actions that pose a threat to the security of the United States and its allies.