KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Kabul on Sunday on his maiden trip to Afghanistan as chief of the Pentagon, amid swirling questions about how long US troops will remain in the country.
State radio and television Afghanistan and the popular TOLO television reported Austin’s arrival in Kabul from India. He met with senior Afghan government officials, including President Ashraf Ghani.
According to the Washington Post, who was among the small group of US media 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 somehow, but I think a lot of effort is put into doing whatever it takes to end the war responsibly and negotiate a solution”, Austin said.
President Joe Biden said in an interview with ABC News last week that it will be “difficult” for the US to meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. But he said if the deadline, set in an agreement between former President Donald Trump’s administration and the Taliban, is extended, it wouldn’t be “much longer.”
In response, the Taliban warned on Friday of the consequences if the US fails to meet the deadline. Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban’s negotiating team, told reporters that if US forces stay after May 1, “this will be some sort of violation of the agreement. That violation would not be on our part. … Their violation will be a violation of the agreement. have reaction. “
Austin met with Ghani and, according to a statement from the presidential palace, both sides condemned the increase in violence in Afghanistan. The May 1 deadline was not mentioned. Washington is reviewing the agreement the Trump administration signed with the Taliban last year and, in the protracted conflict, has increased pressure on both sides to find a speedy path to a peace deal.
In a sharply worded letter to Ghani earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is urgent to make peace in Afghanistan and that all options remain on the table. He also warned that the Taliban would likely gain ground quickly if US and NATO forces withdrew. The United States spends $ 4 billion a year to support Afghanistan’s national security forces.
The Taliban warned America against defying the May 1 deadline at a press conference in Moscow, the day after meeting senior Afghan government negotiators and international observers to try to launch a stalled peace process to end it. put to the decades of war in Afghanistan.
Washington has made an eight-page peace proposal to both the Taliban and the Afghan government, which is being reviewed by both sides. It calls for a temporary so-called “peace government” that would guide Afghanistan towards constitutional reforms and elections.
Ghani has opposed an interim government, leading his critics to accuse him of holding on to power. He says elections are only acceptable to trigger a change of government.
Both the US and Kabul have called for a reduction in violence, leading to a ceasefire. The Taliban say a ceasefire would be part of the peace negotiations. However, since the agreement was signed, the insurgent movement has not attacked US or NATO forces.
However, US military commanders and NATO leaders have argued that the Taliban have failed to live up to their part of the peace deal, which includes a reduction in violence and a separation from al-Qaeda and other terror groups.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that the alliance “will only leave when the time is right” and when the conditions are met.
“The main problem is that the Taliban must reduce violence, the Taliban must negotiate in good faith and the Taliban must stop supporting international terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda,” he said.
Austin has said little about the ongoing stalemate on the record. After a virtual meeting of NATO defense ministers, Austin told reporters that “our presence in Afghanistan is conditional and that the Taliban must fulfill their obligations.”
Austin’s stop in Afghanistan marks his first return to a US war zone in the Middle East since he took the post of the Pentagon. But during his service as army commander, he spent a lot of time in the region. Austin, a retired four-star general, served as commander of the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. 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 Austin’s first overseas trip as a secretary. After a stopover in Hawaii, he went to Japan and South Korea, where he and Secretary of State Blinken met their Defense and Foreign Affairs Ministers.
Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon contributed from Islamabad. Baldor reported from Washington