Kabul (BNA) President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday evening and discussed bilateral relations and recent developments in the peace process, the Presidential Palace said in a statement.
The US defense secretary said the Biden administration supports enduring peace, which is in favor of Afghans and results in a permanent ceasefire, according to the statement.
The statement said that President Ghani and the US defense secretary expressed their concerns over the increase in violence and targeted killings, the Palace said.
“We discussed our mutual commitment to a strong US-Afghan partnership and the importance of making urgent progress on the Afghan peace process. Looking forward to a productive partnership,” Austin said in a tweet.
Austin said he spoke with President Ghani “to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to an enduring US-Afghan partnership, emphasizing the strength of the defense relationship.”
They also discussed the shared sacrifices of US and Afghanistan forces and collective gains made over the last 19 years, the Defense Department said in a statement.
According to the statement, the Afghan peace process and the imperative for a negotiated settlement to end the war were also discussed by the two sides. “Both sides emphasized the importance of seizing this opportunity for peace,” the statement said.
This is the second official of the Biden administration who speaks with President Ghani within a week.
On January 28, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with President Ghani regarding the US commitment to an enduring US-Afghan partnership, according to the State Department.
This comes on the heels of a briefing by the International Crisis Group, titled “Afghanistan: Give Peace Talks a Chance”.
According to the group, the new US administration needs more time to set its policy course on Afghanistan and review the US-Taliban agreement signed a year ago; and assess whether the Taliban has complied with commitments it made, which include breaking all ties with terrorist organizations.
The group said US officials need to move quickly to persuade the Taliban to extend the May deadline for a total troop withdrawal. In fact the group suggested another six months was needed.
As part of the agreement with the Taliban, the US stated it would withdraw all troops by end April. In doing so, the Taliban agreed to join the peace talks process in Doha. However, the talks took at least six months to get off the ground. Based on this, the ICG suggests the Biden administration get an extension to the deadline of six months.
The group also however, suggested the Biden administration signal its commitment to supporting the peace process – despite talks having stalled. “The Biden administration should immediately signal its commitment to continue supporting the negotiations,” the group stated adding that “for the time being the US administration’s top priority should be to keep the Afghan peace process going and buy the time it will need to face the decisions coming its way.”
