Washington, January 28 John Kirby, spokesman of the U.S. Department of Defense, said on the 28th that the Afghan Taliban had failed to fulfill its previous commitments in the agreement with the United States.
Kirby made the above statement at a press conference held at the Pentagon on the 28th.
He stressed that the United States has not yet made a decision on the size of the future U.S. military in Afghanistan, but the Biden administration is still committed to negotiating an end to the war in Afghanistan.
The United States launched the war in Afghanistan after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. The U.S. government and the Taliban signed an agreement at the end of February 2020.
The United States promised to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan from about 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days, and the remaining U.S. and NATO coalition soldiers will withdraw by May this year.
The Taliban promised not to allow its members and other organizations, including Al-Qaeda, to use Afghan territory to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
Kirby said that the Taliban failed to fulfill its commitment to sever ties with terrorist organizations and stop attacks on UNISFA.
He said that it is difficult to see a negotiated solution to the problem at present.
As of January this year, the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan has been reduced to about 2,500.
Kirby said that the number of U.S. troops of this size is fully qualified for counter-terrorism missions.
In a phone call with Afghan President’s National Security Adviser Hamdula Muhib on the 22nd, U.S. President Jack Sullivan said that the United States will assess whether the Taliban has severed ties with terrorist organizations, reduced violence and engaged in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government.
