U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with representatives of both sides in intra-Afghan peace talks in Qatar, urging them to seize a historic opportunity to reach a political settlement and permanent ceasefire in the Afghan civil war.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis meet in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday to launch historic peace talks aimed at ending nearly two decades of war.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the opening ceremony in Doha. In his remarks, he said, “Afghans have finally chosen to sit together to chart a new course for your country. This is a moment when we must be brave enough to hope. As we look to the dawn, we cannot forget the darkness of forty years of war and the lives and opportunities lost, but neither the pain nor the unceasing destruction can match the hope for peace that all the people of Afghanistan and many of their friends have always had. This is extraordinary and a testament to the human spirit.”
The U.S. wants Afghanistan to be a “sovereign, united, and representative nation at peace with itself and with its neighbors,” Pompeo said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met separately with Afghan government and Taliban negotiators in Doha on December 12 and again in Doha. In a meeting with Mullah Baradar, head of the Taliban political office, and members of the Taliban negotiating team, he urged the Taliban to seize the opportunity to achieve a political settlement in Afghanistan and a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire agreement.
Pompeo then met with Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan government’s High Commission for National Reconciliation, acting Foreign Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar, and other members of the Afghan government’s negotiating team. Pompeo urged Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan government’s High Commission for National Reconciliation, to seize this opportunity to achieve a political settlement in Afghanistan and a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire agreement. Pompeo welcomed the Afghan-led initiative to end four decades of war and to ensure that Afghanistan does not pose a threat to the United States and its allies.
The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Pompeo will travel to Cyprus on the 12th to discuss with the Cypriot president and foreign minister the ongoing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the further deepening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
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