KABUL: The US military in Afghanistan Saturday urged warring parties to “return to the political path” in a rare open letter to the Taliban as a surge in violence risks shattering a hoped-for peace process.
In a two-page letter to the Taliban, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said “all sides” must show restraint to prevent further bloodshed.
“If the violence cannot be reduced then yes, there will be responses,” Leggett wrote in a letter to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
“All sides must also return to the political path... Afghans should sit down now and begin talking about the future of Afghanistan together.”
The letter came after General Scott Miller, who leads US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, on April 28 warned the Taliban of potential consequences to continued violence.
Under the terms of a US-Taliban deal signed February 29, the Taliban committed to stop striking US and foreign partner troops, and agreed to start peace talks with the Kabul administration following an exchange of prisoners.
In return, the US and other foreign troops will leave Afghanistan within 14 months of the deal signing.
The US agreed not to attack the Taliban, though it has reserved the right to hit them to support Afghan forces if they come under attack.
The Taliban also verbally committed to reduce violence by as much as 80 percent, Leggett said, and to halt attacks on urban areas. Instead, there has been a “drastic increase” in violence, he noted.
While the Taliban have refrained from hitting coalition forces and cities, they returned to the battlefield the moment the deal was signed and have been unleashing an average of 55 attacks a day on Afghan forces, according to Afghan officials.
Meanwhile the prisoner swap has stalled as the Afghan government frets about releasing hard-line Taliban members who will return to the fight.
In a short response to Leggett’s letter, Mujahid scolded the US for making “provocative statements.”
“We are committed to our end, honor your own obligations,” Mujahid wrote on Twitter.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants American troops home, and the Taliban realize that as long as they don’t hit American or foreign troops, there are few consequences for continued attacks, experts say.
US military warns of ‘responses’ if Taliban violence continues
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US military warns of ‘responses’ if Taliban violence continues
- US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said “all sides” must show restraint to prevent further bloodshed
- Under the terms of a US-Taliban deal signed February 29, the Taliban committed to stop striking US and foreign partner troops, and agreed to start peace talks with the Kabul administration
Kremlin welcomes US sanctions waiver says US and Russia share interest in stable energy markets
DUBAI: Russia sees a U.S. sanctions waiver on its oil as an attempt by Washington to stabilise global energy markets, and the two countries have a shared interest in this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"We see actions by the United States aimed at trying to stabilise energy markets. In this respect, our interests coincide," he said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a temporary authorisation allowing countries around the world to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea on Thursday extending a measure that had previously been granted only to Indian refiners.
Bessent stressed in a post on X that the authorisation would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.
“This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction,” Bessent said on a post on X.
However, the measure received mix reviews in European capitals, with many fearing it could help replenish Russia's assualt on Ukraine.
"I am concerned that we are further filling Putin's war chest," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said in Berlin on Friday.
Reiche said that she saw both sides to the United States' decision to issue a 30-day waiver for the purchase of Russian oil products, understanding the increasing ecnomic and political turnout from the oil crisis, particurlarly in South Korea and Japan.
"It seems to me that domestic political pressure in the United States is very, very high," Reiche said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was more direct, saying on Friday that it was wrong to ease sanctions against Russia for whatever reason. The sentiment was echoed by Norway’s Prime Minister, who also said sanctions should not be eased.
Oil prices held gains above $100 Friday and most equity markets dropped after Iran's leader called for the blocking of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and the opening up of new fronts in the war against the United States and Israel.
With the conflict heading towards its third week and showing no signs of ending, investors are growing increasingly worried about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.
