PESHAWAR: The negotiating teams of the United States and Taliban discussed during the two-day Doha parleys a way forward for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and to prevent Afghanistan from being used against other nations, a Taliban spokesman said on Thursday.
Both groups are expected to meet for another crucial session on Saturday.
Amid the ongoing talks in Doha, Qatar, the spokesman added that extensive discussions were held from Tuesday till Wednesday afternoon, with Maulvi Abbas Stanekzai leading the Taliban delegation.
“The meetings ended last night as both negotiation teams agreed to take a break today [Thursday] and tomorrow [Friday] for consultations and the preparation of a third meeting which shall be held on Saturday,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, said.
Meanwhile, the deputy of Taliban’s political wing in Doha, Mullah Baradar Akhund met with Qatar’s deputy Prime Minister Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, National Security Adviser Muhammad Al-Masnad, US State Department’s Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, and the commander of the “occupying forces” in Afghanistan, Scott Miller, he added.
The meetings focused on discussions about the ongoing negotiations process and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, he said, adding that Mullah Baradar had clarified the Islamic Emirate’s policy regarding the pullout of troops and the changing dynamics of Afghanistan. He also emphasized that the Taliban is committed to the current peace process along with the establishment of an Islamic system in Afghanistan.
While the US did not release any official statement related to the two-day peace talks, Khalilzad tweeted on February 25 that it was the first time he had met Mullah Baradar and his team at a working lunch. He also indicated that the two sides were now prepared for the peace talks.
On Wednesday, he said that the technical groups, from both the Taliban and the US, discussed the withdrawal from Afghanistan, following which talks would be held to ensure that Afghan soil will not be used to harm anyone’s interests.
The US envoy also tweeted about the significance of his meeting with a “more authoritative Taliban delegation” on his arrival in Doha and appreciated Qatar for hosting the meeting and Pakistan for facilitating the travel of the Taliban leaders.
Mullah Baradar, Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, Mullah Abdul Lateef Mansoor and Maulvi Matiul Haq traveled to Doha on a chartered plane last Sunday after Pakistan made arrangements for their journey.
However, the Taliban’s side was short of one man since Anas Haqqani, one of the 14 members of the negotiating team, continues to be in Afghan captivity.
Similarly, the US team for Monday’s meeting comprised nearly 25 members, including officials of the State Department, Pentagon, Department of Defense, and a few Congressmen.
Irfanullah Khan, an expert on Pak-Afghan affairs, told Arab News that the US-Taliban talks were likely to yield some tangible results this time which were aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan and the region.
He hoped that the increase in tensions between India and Pakistan would not impact the nascent peace process between the US and Taliban, but that Washington should use diplomatic channels to quell the brewing discord in South Asia.
“Because of the seriousness and enthusiasm on both (the US and the Taliban) sides, I’m very much optimistic that they will lead to a tangible peace agreement this time,” Khan observed.
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Troop drawdown, assurances dominate US-Taliban talks in Qatar
Troop drawdown, assurances dominate US-Taliban talks in Qatar
- Both sides will meet again on Saturday
- Dialogue is likely to yield tangible results this time, experts say
EU leaders to reassess US ties despite Trump U-turn on Greenland
BRUSSELS: EU leaders will rethink their ties with the US at an emergency summit on Thursday after Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs and even military action to acquire Greenland badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship, diplomats said.
Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from his threat of tariffs on eight European nations, ruled out using force to take Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and suggested a deal was in sight to end the dispute.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, welcoming Trump’s U-turn on Greenland, urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
But EU governments remain wary of another change of mind by a mercurial president who is increasingly seen as a bully that Europe will have to stand up to, and they are focused on coming up with a longer-term plan on how to deal with the United States under this administration and possibly its successors too.
“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no going back to what it was. And leaders will discuss it,” one EU diplomat said, adding that the bloc needed to move away from its heavy reliance on the US in many areas.
“We need to try to keep him (Trump) close while working on becoming more independent from the US It is a process, probably a long one,” the diplomat said.
EU RELIANCE ON US
After decades of relying on the United States for defense within the NATO alliance, the EU lacks the needed intelligence, transport, missile defense and production capabilities to defend itself against a possible Russian attack. This gives the US substantial leverage.
The US is also Europe’s biggest trading partner, making the EU vulnerable to Trump’s policies of imposing tariffs to reduce Washington’s trade deficit in goods, and, as in the case of Greenland, to achieve other goals.
“We need to discuss where the red lines are, how we deal with this bully across the Atlantic, where our strengths are,” a second EU diplomat said.
“Trump says no tariffs today, but does that mean also no tariffs tomorrow, or will he again quickly change his mind? We need to discuss what to do then,” the second diplomat said.
The EU had been considering a package of retaliatory tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108.74 billion) on US imports or anti-coercive measures if Trump had gone ahead with his own tariffs, while knowing such a step would harm Europe’s economy as well as the United States.
WHAT’S THE GREENLAND DEAL?
Several diplomats noted there were still few details of the new plan for Greenland, agreed between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte late on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Nothing much changed. We still need to see details of the Greenland deal. We are a bit fed up with all the bullying. And we need to act on a few things: more resiliency, unity, get our things together on internal market, competitiveness. And no more accepting tariff bullying,” a third diplomat said.
Rutte told Reuters in an interview in Davos on Thursday that under the framework deal he reached with Trump the Western allies would have to step up their presence in the Arctic.
He also said talks would continue between Denmark, Greenland and the US on specific issues.
Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained.
“The approach of a united front in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland while focusing on de-escalation and finding an off-ramp has worked,” a fourth EU diplomat said.
“At the same time it would be good to reflect on the state of the relationship and how we want to shape this going forward, given the experiences of the past week (and year),” he said.
Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from his threat of tariffs on eight European nations, ruled out using force to take Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and suggested a deal was in sight to end the dispute.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, welcoming Trump’s U-turn on Greenland, urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
But EU governments remain wary of another change of mind by a mercurial president who is increasingly seen as a bully that Europe will have to stand up to, and they are focused on coming up with a longer-term plan on how to deal with the United States under this administration and possibly its successors too.
“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no going back to what it was. And leaders will discuss it,” one EU diplomat said, adding that the bloc needed to move away from its heavy reliance on the US in many areas.
“We need to try to keep him (Trump) close while working on becoming more independent from the US It is a process, probably a long one,” the diplomat said.
EU RELIANCE ON US
After decades of relying on the United States for defense within the NATO alliance, the EU lacks the needed intelligence, transport, missile defense and production capabilities to defend itself against a possible Russian attack. This gives the US substantial leverage.
The US is also Europe’s biggest trading partner, making the EU vulnerable to Trump’s policies of imposing tariffs to reduce Washington’s trade deficit in goods, and, as in the case of Greenland, to achieve other goals.
“We need to discuss where the red lines are, how we deal with this bully across the Atlantic, where our strengths are,” a second EU diplomat said.
“Trump says no tariffs today, but does that mean also no tariffs tomorrow, or will he again quickly change his mind? We need to discuss what to do then,” the second diplomat said.
The EU had been considering a package of retaliatory tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108.74 billion) on US imports or anti-coercive measures if Trump had gone ahead with his own tariffs, while knowing such a step would harm Europe’s economy as well as the United States.
WHAT’S THE GREENLAND DEAL?
Several diplomats noted there were still few details of the new plan for Greenland, agreed between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte late on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Nothing much changed. We still need to see details of the Greenland deal. We are a bit fed up with all the bullying. And we need to act on a few things: more resiliency, unity, get our things together on internal market, competitiveness. And no more accepting tariff bullying,” a third diplomat said.
Rutte told Reuters in an interview in Davos on Thursday that under the framework deal he reached with Trump the Western allies would have to step up their presence in the Arctic.
He also said talks would continue between Denmark, Greenland and the US on specific issues.
Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained.
“The approach of a united front in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland while focusing on de-escalation and finding an off-ramp has worked,” a fourth EU diplomat said.
“At the same time it would be good to reflect on the state of the relationship and how we want to shape this going forward, given the experiences of the past week (and year),” he said.
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