Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke on phone with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s chief negotiator, saying they “had a good conversation.”
“They’re looking to get this ended and we’re looking to get this ended,” Trump said. “The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah.”
The conversation comes at a time, while the Afghan government and Taliban are still reluctant to build a trust issue regarding the peace deal. The Afghan government wants the Taliban to continue the reduction in violence – an agreement made between US diplomats and Taliban representatives in Qatar – until both sides reach a ceasefire agreement. But the Taliban insist on release of their 5,000 fighters prior to the intra-Afghan- talks an offer the Afghan government rejected and said the issue should be discussed during direct talks among Afghans.
According to sources, the conversation had been lasted for about 35 minutes. Citing the US President Donald Trump’s remarks, the Taliban Qatar Based Political Office’s Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said that US Secretary of State Mike Pmpeo would be visiting Afghanistan in the near future to conquer the obstacles against the intra-Afghan talks.
The US and Taliban last Saturday signed a peace deal after rounds of painstaking peace talks. The agreement will pave US troops’ pull out and will bring the Afghans on a mutual negotiation table to discuss the country’s future fate.
But in the wake of the peace deal, the Taliban have still continued their attacks on the Afghan security forces, citing the agreement as the only settlement deal with the US.
The US-NATO Forces Commander Gen. Scott Miller said that if the Taliban didn’t continue the partial truce, the peace deal could possibly be broken.
