US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not rule out the reopening of talks with the Taliban on Sunday if they make a "significant commitment" after President Donald Trump canceled a secret meeting with his leaders in his retirement from Camp David.
Pompeo said Trump had not decided if he would still withdraw US troops, but warned the Taliban of renewed military pressure if the attacks continue.
“I hope it is the case that the Taliban change their behavior and commit themselves again to the things we have been talking about. In the end, this will be resolved through a series of conversations, "said Pompeo. A B C TV show "This week."
Trump, at a bomb on Saturday night, said he had invited Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to meet him on Sunday at Camp David, the presidential retreat outside Washington.
Trump said he was canceling the talks because the Taliban, who have never stopped their campaign of violence, had killed an American military man in a car bomb on Thursday in Kabul.
"We need a significant commitment," Pompeo said of the Taliban in a separate interview with CNN when asked if the United States could restart negotiations.
"If the Taliban don't behave, if they don't meet the commitments they made for weeks and, in some cases, months, the president of the United States is not going to reduce the pressure," he said.
"We are not going to reduce our support for the Afghan security forces that have fought so hard," he said.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1504217/us-secretary-of-state-doesnt-rule-out-new-taliban-talks
