Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said that Afghan peace negotiation might be difficult but is the only way to reach peace and end the decades-long war in Afghanistan.
Pompeo made this remark ahead of a trip to Qatar to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the intra-Afghan negotiations. He also emphasized on reduction of violence in Afghanistan.
“We hope to see the Afghans on negotiation table for the first time on Saturday morning,” Pompeo said. “Their negotiations which how to move their country forward may be difficult.”
Pompeo said that the due time of the intra-Afghan negotiations has taken longer time than it was expected after the February 29th peace deal.
He tightened the American troops’ full withdrawal on Taliban’s commitment. “The Taliban has made some commitments. We expect them to stay committed,” he added.
Piers Cazalet, a spokesman for the NATO has expressed optimism for the intra-Afghan negotiations but said that the NATO Forces’ withdrawal depended on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Based on the peace deal, we would manage our withdrawal,” he said. “We promised to drop the number of our troops down to 12,000.”
If the US peace deal with the Taliban comes into effect, Pentagon would pull out all of its troops from Afghanistan within next six months.
