ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have met with the head of US forces in Afghanistan to call for an end to what they say is an increase in American attacks since a peace deal signed in February, allegations the US military denied on Saturday.
A US military spokesman called on the Taliban to stop attacking Afghan security forces and said American troops would continue to come to their aid in accordance with the agreement. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The peace deal is aimed at paving the way for the US to extricate itself from the 19-year war, America’s longest.
The spokesman confirmed that Gen. Scott Miller met with the Taliban “as part of the military channel established in the agreement” to discuss ways to reduce the violence.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the meeting was held late Friday in the Gulf nation of Qatar, where the insurgent group maintains a political office. Shaheen tweeted Saturday that the two sides held “serious” discussions. He said the Taliban called for a halt to attacks against civilians. The US military says it does not target non-combatants.
The US-Taliban deal, touted as Afghanistan’s best chance at ending decades of war, is holding, but progress toward a broader political settlement has been slowed by squabbling within the Afghan government. That has frustrated Washington and delayed the start of the next phase of negotiations, among Afghans themselves.
The Taliban say they have reduced their attacks on Afghan forces and have not attacked US or NATO troops since the agreement was signed on Feb. 29. Most of the recent Taliban attacks have been against Afghan forces posted in remote areas.
The Afghan government meanwhile said its air force struck Taliban positions in the northeastern Badakhshan province, killing up to 27 insurgents.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said civilians were killed and wounded, blaming US and Afghan forces. The US military spokesman declined to respond to the allegation but said that the Taliban often falsely accuse the US of carrying out bombing raids launched by Afghan forces.
Taliban meet with US general amid tensions over peace deal
https://arab.news/pr92z
Taliban meet with US general amid tensions over peace deal
- The US denie claims they have stepped up operations against the Taliban
- US-Taliban deal, touted as Afghanistan’s best chance at ending decades of war, is holding
Rubio meets Orbán in Budapest as US and Hungary are to sign a civilian nuclear pact
- Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orbán in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months
BUDAPEST, Hungary: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the Hungarian capital on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government during which they plan to sign a civilian-nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by US President Donald Trump.
Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orbán in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months. Orbán and his Fidesz party are facing their most serious challenge in the April 12 vote since the right-wing populist retook power in 2010.
The stop in Hungary’s capital follows Rubio’s visit to Slovakia on Sunday, after he previously attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Led by Euroskeptic populists who oppose support for Ukraine and vocally back Trump, Slovakia and Hungary represent friendly territory for Rubio as he pushes to shore up energy agreements with both Central European countries.
Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine while currying favor with Trump and his MAGA — short for the 2016 Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” — movement.
Many in MAGA and the broader conservative world view Hungary as a shining example of successful conservative nationalism, despite the erosion of its democratic institutions and its status as one of the EU’s poorest countries.
In a post on his Truth Social site earlier this month, Trump endorsed Orbán for the coming elections and called him a “truly strong and powerful Leader” and “a true friend, fighter, and WINNER.”
Trump has praised Orbán’s firm opposition to immigration, exemplified by a fence his government erected on Hungary’s southern border in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Other US conservatives admire Orbán’s hostility to LGBTQ+ rights. His government last year banned the popular Budapest Pride celebration and allowed facial recognition technology to be used to identify anyone participating despite the ban. It has also effectively banned same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage, and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.
Orbán has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite efforts by the EU to wean off such supplies, and received an exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy after a November meeting in the White House with Trump.
Apparently trusting that his political and personal affinity with the US leader could pay even greater dividends, Orbán and his government have sought to woo Trump to Hungary before the pivotal April 12 elections — hoping such a high-profile visit and endorsement would push Orbán, who is trailing in most polls, over the finish line.
Budapest has hosted several annual iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, and another was hastily rescheduled this year to fall in March, just before Hungary’s elections.
