BLINKEN CALLS FOR A 90-DAY REDUCTION IN VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN

Mon 08 March 2021:

The Taliban could make rapid military gains across Afghanistan when American and Nato troops pull out, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a 90-day reduction in violence in Afghanistan and a new United Nations-led peace effort as he warned the US could withdraw all forces after May 1, according to a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reported by several news outlets Sunday.

The letter from Blinken was first published by TOLOnews, an Afghan news outlet, and confirmed by the New York Times. A State Department spokeswoman declined to confirm the letter’s veracity, but said the US has “not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan after May 1. All options remain on the table.”

« We are immediately pursuing a high-level diplomatic effort …« ⁦@ABlinken⁩ to ⁦@ashrafghani⁩ in new letter setting out a new effort to end #Afghanistan war pic.twitter.com/2hvXwASXdN

— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) March 7, 2021

Blinken’s letter calls for bringing the two sides together for a United Nations-facilitated conference with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US, “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan”.

The secretary of state has called on the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to share with both the Afghan government and Taliban written proposals to help accelerate discussions, according to the ToloNews report.

The state department declined to comment.

The Trump administration made withdrawing troops from Afghanistan a priority.

US soldiers invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to remove the Taliban from power.

In January, the Biden administration said it would review the peace agreement made with the Taliban during Donald Trump’s presidency.

The White House has now said that it wants to make sure the Afghan militant group is “living up to its commitments”, including reducing violence and cutting ties with terrorists, before withdrawing.

The deal signed in February 2020 said that the US and its Nato allies would withdraw all troops in 14 months if the Taliban upheld its promises, including not allowing al-Qaeda or other militants to operate in areas it controlled, and proceeding with national peace talks.

Although the Taliban, stopped attacks on international forces as part of the historic agreement, it has continued to fight the Afghan government.