Time for US to leave Afghanistan says Taliban negotiator

Earlier, President Joe Biden said that it will be “tough” for the U.S. to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan but that the complete drawdown won’t take much longer. The deadline to end America’s longest war six weeks from now was set under an agreement reached by former President Donald Trump and the Taliban, without the buy-in of the Afghan government.

Moscow:A Taliban negotiator attending an Afghanistan peace conference in Moscow said on Friday it was time for U.S. troops to leave the country.

Suhail Shaheen called on the Americans to comply with an agreed May 1 deadline for their final withdrawal from Afghanistan, a date fixed under a year-old agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban.

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"They should go," Shaheen said, insisting that not leaving at the end of April would be a violation of the agreement.

Any such violation "will have a reaction, but we hope that this should not happen," he added.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks masterminded by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who was sheltered by the Taliban.

The invasion toppled the Taliban regime but the 20-year-war has made Afghanistan America's longest conflict.

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The one-day Russian gathering on Friday brought together Afghan government representatives, the Taliban and international observers in a bid to help jump-start the country's stalled peace process.

Moscow’s attempt at mediation comes as talks in Qatar between the government and the Taliban have stalled.

Washington and Kabul have been pressing for a cease-fire while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government.

AP

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