Washington DC, July 26: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo have insisted it was the right time to accelerate efforts to put an end to the 18-year-long civil war and turmoil in war-torn Afghan, the US department of state said on Friday.
In a tweet, Pompeo wrote: “Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward.”
Good conversation with President @AshrafGhani yesterday. We agreed that now is the time to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war in #Afghanistan. All parties must lead to move the #AfghanPeaceProcess forward.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 25, 2019
According to ANI news reports, Pompeo and Ghani has held telephonic conservation on Wednesday during which the state secretary assured the Afghan president no change has been made to United States President Donald Trump-led Asia strategy, also including Washington’s commitment to pull American troops out from the war-ravaged nation on conditions, the state department said in an official statement.
Pompeo further told Ghani he had sent General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and US special representative for Afghan reconciliation envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to discuss the next moves in detail on ways to achieve peace, the department statement added.
In response, Ghani welcomed Pompeo’s engagement and confirmed Kabul’s commitment to working along with the US to achieve a peaceful, stable, and democratic Afghan with a terrorism-free nation.