Taliban say Afghan peace effort figured in video talks with U.S.'s
Pompeo
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[June 30, 2020]
By Abdul Qadir Sediqi
KABUL (Reuters) - The head of the Taliban's
political office in Doha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a
video conference to discuss the Afghan peace process, the Islamist group
said on Tuesday, in a bid to remove hurdles in the path to peace talks.
Increasing violence and a contentious prisoner swap between the Afghan
government and the Taliban have delayed talks that were to have begun in
March between the insurgent group and a team mandated by Kabul.
On Twitter, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Monday's talks between
the official, Mullah Baradar, and Pompeo discussed full implementation
of the Doha accord and the withdrawal of foreign troops, as well as the
release of prisoners, intra-Afghan talks and a reduction in fighting.
The Doha agreement, signed between the United States and Taliban in
February, drew up plans for a withdrawal of foreign forces from the
war-torn country in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgent
group.
"Baradar once again reiterated that the Taliban are committed not to let
anyone use Afghan soil (to launch attacks) against any country," Shaheen
said.
Pompeo acknowledged the insurgent group had "lowered the war graph by
not attacking cities and major military bases" but said more needed to
be done by all parties, the spokesman added.
The U.S. embassy in Kabul did not immediately respond to an email
seeking comment.
The Baradar-Pompeo conference came amidst U.S. media reports that
American intelligence had briefed President Donald Trump about
Taliban-linked fighters collecting bounties from Russia to attack
foreign troops in Afghanistan.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gives a news conference about
dealings with China and Iran, and on the fight against the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Washington, U.S., June
24, 2020. Mangel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS
Trump has denied getting any such briefing.
Shaheen said Baradar told Pompeo the delay in talks was because the
Afghan government did not release the agreed number of prisoners.
Kabul and some foreign countries have raised concerns about the
release of about 200 prisoners they say are involved in major
attacks in Afghanistan.
Since the Doha pact, Taliban fighters have launched 44 attacks and
killed or wounded an average of 24 civilians each day, Javid Faisal,
the spokesman for the Afghan national security adviser, said on
Tuesday.
Baradar told Pompeo the increased attacks were because of
provocation by the government in areas under Taliban control,
Shaheen added.
(Additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi; Writing by Gibran Peshimam;
Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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