KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kabul on Sunday on his first trip to Afghanistan as head of the Pentagon, amid doubts about how long American troops will remain in the country.
State radio and television from Afghanistan and the popular TOLO Television reported Austin’s arrival from India to Kabul. He met with senior Afghan government officials, including President Ashraf Ghani.
According to the Washington Post, which was among the small US media group that traveled with him, Austin said senior US officials want to see “a responsible end to this conflict” and “a transition to something else”.
“There will always be concerns about things in one way or another, but I think there is a lot of energy focused on doing what it takes to reach a responsible end and a negotiated deal for the war,” said Austin.
President Joe Biden said last week in an interview with ABC News that it will be “difficult” for the US to meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. But he said that if the deadline, which is foreseen in an agreement between the government of former President Donald Trump and the Taliban, is extended, it will not be “much longer”.
In response, the Taliban warned on Friday of the consequences if the United States fails to meet the deadline. Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiating team, told reporters that if US troops remain beyond May 1, “it will be a kind of breach of the agreement. This violation would not be on our side. … their violation will have a reaction. “
Austin met with Ghani and, according to a statement released by the presidential palace, the two sides condemned the increase in violence in Afghanistan. There was no mention of the May 1 deadline. Washington is reviewing the agreement the Trump administration signed with the Taliban last year and has intensified pressure from both sides in the protracted conflict to find a fast track to a peace deal.
In a letter with harsh words to Ghani earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there is an urgent need to make peace in Afghanistan and that all options remain on the table. He also warned that the Taliban are likely to make rapid territorial gains if US and NATO troops withdraw. The United States spends $ 4 billion a year to support Afghanistan’s National Security Forces.
The Taliban warned the United States against defying the May 1 deadline at a news conference in Moscow, a day after meeting with Afghan government negotiators and international observers to try to start a stagnant peace process to end decades of war in the Middle East. Afghanistan.
Washington also gave the Taliban and the Afghan government an eight-page peace proposal, which both sides are considering. He calls for a provisional so-called “peace government” that would lead Afghanistan towards constitutional reform and elections.
Ghani resisted an interim government, causing his critics to accuse him of holding on to power. He says the elections alone would be acceptable to bring about a change of government.
Both the United States and Kabul have called for a reduction in violence, leading to a ceasefire. The Taliban say a ceasefire would be part of the peace talks. However, the insurgent movement has not attacked US or NATO troops since the agreement was signed.
However, US military commanders and NATO leaders have argued that the Taliban have failed to fulfill their part of the peace agreement, which includes reducing violence and separating Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that the alliance “will only leave when the time is right” and when conditions are met.
“The main problem is that the Taliban must reduce violence, negotiate in good faith and stop supporting international terrorist groups like Al Qaeda,” he said.
Austin said little officially about the continuing stalemate. After a virtual meeting of NATO’s defense ministers, Austin told reporters that “our presence in Afghanistan is based on conditions and the Taliban must live up to its commitments”.
Austin’s stop in Afghanistan marks his first return to a US war zone in the Middle East since taking over from the Pentagon. But he spent a lot of time in the region during his service as an army commander. Austin, a retired four-star general, served in Afghanistan as commander of the 10th Mountain Division. And from 2013-2016 he was the head of the US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The visit to Afghanistan comes at the end of his first trip abroad from Austin as secretary. After a stop in Hawaii, he went to Japan and South Korea, where he and Secretary of State Blinken met with their defense and foreign affairs ministers.
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Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon contributed from Islamabad. Reported baldor from Washington