Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Kabul (BNA) President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah met with US Senator Lindsey Graham here on Monday evening, and both sides discussed joint anti-terror cooperation, peace and stability in Afghanistan.
During a meeting at the presidential palace, President Ghani called terrorism a threat to the security of Afghanistan and the United States, calling for joint efforts to battle the scourge.
The President said a general consensus existed for peace but a ceasefire and Taliban’s safe havens outside Afghanistan were issues that should be addressed. President Ghani, appreciating America’s cooperation with Afghanistan over the past 18 years, hailed Senator Graham as a friend and supporter of the Afghan nation and government. The president said 90 percent of security operations in the country were currently led by the Afghan security forces. Meanwhile US senator Graham praised the Afghan armed forces for taking responsibility for ensuring security and fighting terrorism. He hoped peace could be established without any compromise on Afghanistan’s achievement and women rights. He said the main purpose of his trip to Kabul was to assess the situation in and discuss how the number of US troops in the country could be reduced. According to another report, Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdulalh also met with the visiting US senator here at the Sapidar Palace on Monday evening. Dr. Abdullah praised US assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan, saying the ceasefire and reduction of violence should be the pre-condition for any peace deal with Taliban. He also said that the Electoral Complaint Commission was addressing the issues before the election process and the result would be announced after tackling the allegations, a statement from the CE Press office said. Meanwhile US senator said his country was committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan, adding a peace deal that also agreed by Afghans would be the top priority for US administration. He said Khalilzad would continue to achieve such deal. Graham hoped that the intra-Afghan talks and ceasefire to begin after US-Taliban agreement, asking Afghan government to introduce an inclusive delegation for the talks, the statement added.
