US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Qatar, the group’s spokesman said.
The meeting came after Pompeo visited Kabul where he met President Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah trying to make them reach an agreement on an inclusive government, which he failed.
According to Pompeo, Afghan leaders are acting inconsistently with their commitments under the Joint Declaration, chiefly failing to establish an inclusive national team to participate in intra-Afghan negotiations or take practical steps to facilitate prisoner releases by both sides as a confidence-building measure to reach a political settlement and achieve a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said that the meeting with Pompeo discussed better implementation of their deal and quick release of prisoners so that intra-Afghan talks begin for future political establishment and permanent ceasefire. Pompeo also assured that US troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan according to the timeline.
