Washington:
The United States known as Tuesday for an finish to violence in Afghanistan, blaming Taliban insurgents for significantly of the bloodshed, 3 days ahead of a check out by President Ashraf Ghani to the White House.
“We urge the sides to engage in serious negotiations that determine a political roadmap for Afghanistan’s future,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“We continue to call for an end to the ongoing violence that has been driven largely by the Taliban,” Price stated.
The Taliban captured Afghanistan’s major border crossing with Tajikistan Tuesday, officials stated, with safety forces abandoning their posts and some fleeing across the frontier.
The taking of the far north Shir Khan Bandar was the most substantial obtain for the Taliban considering the fact that the United States started the final stage of its troop withdrawal in May, with peace talks involving the insurgents and Kabul deadlocked.
“The violence must cease,” Price stated.
“We continue to believe that negotiated settlement between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban is the only way to end 40 years of war, and to bring Afghans the peace they seek,” Price added.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks considering the fact that US troops began pulling out in a withdrawal that is proceeding swiftly.
But the Pentagon hinted Monday that it may be slowed intentionally to confront the insurgent attacks, even even though the September 11 target date for finishing the pull-out remains sacred.
On Friday, President Joe Biden will meet with Ghani and with Abdullah Abdullah, who is overseeing the government side in the peace talks with the Taliban.
()