U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani have agreed that it was time to "accelerate efforts" to end the war in Afghanistan, a joint statement issued by the U.S. State Department said.
Pompeo and Ghani spoke by phone on July 25, the statement said.
Ghani had asked for clarifications following U.S. President Donald Trump's remark earlier this week that he had a plan that could win the war in Afghanistan “in a week,” but he didn't "want to kill 10 million people."
The statement said Pompeo assured Ghani that "there has been no change to President Trump’s South Asia strategy, including U.S. commitment to a conditions-based drawdown.”
Pompeo told Ghani that General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Afghan special representative Zalmay Khalizad had been sent to Kabul to "discuss in detail the next steps on the road to peace," the statement added.
The statement also said that Ghani had confirmed Afghanistan’s commitment “to working side-by-side with the United States to achieve a stable, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan that is not a center for terrorism.”
The statement was released amid a wave of attacks across three Afghan provinces that left more than 50 people dead.
Pompeo, Ghani Agree To Accelerate Afghan Peace Talks
- By RFE/RL
Editors' Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
Four Years On, UN Says Taliban Close To 'Erasing' Afghan Women From Public Life
2Afghan Women, Girls 'Bear Brunt' Of Earthquake Amid Taliban Restrictions
3Kabul's Quiet Resistance: Young Afghans Navigate Life Under The Taliban
4China Dangles Belt And Road Investment To Mend Taliban-Pakistan Ties
5Afghan Woman Who Lost All Male Relatives In Earthquake Faces New Barriers
6World Food Program Warns Of 'Unprecedented' Hunger Crisis In Afghanistan
7Russia Boosts The Taliban's Quest For Legitimacy. Who Will Be Next?
8Taliban Rulers Seek Outside Help As Workers Race To Aid Earthquake Victims
9This Afghan Teen Is The Sole Survivor From His Family After Deadly Earthquake
10Commandos Airdropped Into Remote Afghan Region In Race To Rescue Earthquake Survivors
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.