US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday dismissed the impasse over the prisoner releases in Afghanistan as “posturing” as he expected the issues to arise as the two sides move toward formal talks.
“There was no doubt that there would be steps forward and steps backward,” Pompeo said in a news conference, adding that some progress had been made since the agreement was signed in late February. “But we see them posturing in the media.”
Under the US-Taliban deal, up to 5,000 militants would be freed by the Afghan government in exchange for 1,000 prisoners held by the group by March 10 when intra-Afghan talks were scheduled to begin.
However, the releases have been delayed and on Tuesday Taliban’s political office in Qatar asked its technical team to return from Kabul.
Pompeo paid a one-day visit to Kabul on March 23 to pressure President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah to end their dispute over leadership.
He told the news conference that all of the Afghan sides must begin negotiations on a political settlement that ends decades of war. He called on Ghani and Abdullah to “figure out the political challenges that confront them.”
“I am confident in the days ahead we’ll have things that look like steps backward, but I’m also hopeful that all the parties are sincere in wanting what’s good for the Afghan people, right,” Pompeo said.
