Negotiations between Afghanistan's warring parties are likely to be 'contentious,' US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns as he departs for talks in Qatar
Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation waves goodbye before departing from Kabul, Afghanistan to Doha, Qatar, September 11, 2020.
The Trump administration has been attempting to usher the Taliban and Afghan government towards negotiations, which would pave the way for the United States to finally withdraw from its longest war and hand President Donald Trump an important foreign policy success right before the US presidential election.
Pompeo in his comments made it clear the US was ready to return soldiers to Afghanistan if it saw a threat emerging and the Taliban reneged on their commitments. But Pompeo warned of spoilers to peace, citing recent targeted killings in Afghanistan and an attempted assassination earlier this week of Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh.The Taliban had hitherto refused to have direct talks with a government that the group says is powerless.
France and Australia said overnight that they objected to the prisoners being released from Afghan prisons. Negotiations have raised hope among Afghans across the country that the grinding conflict might come to a halt.
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