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The United States announced that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan could be halted because the Taliban "is not complying" with the peace agreement.
During a press conference held on Thursday in Washington D.C., the U.S. capital, the spokesman of the U.S. Department of Defense, John Kirby, alleged that "the Taliban have not fulfilled their commitments" regarding the peace agreement signed in February 2020 between the two countries.
For this reason, he explained, the United States reserves the possibility to study the situation with the rest of its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners concerning the next steps to be taken.
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Also, Kirby said that the new U.S. Administration, chaired by Joe Biden, has already initiated dialogues with its close allies on the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Latif Pedram, the Afghan National Congress leader, says that they will not allow the Americans to determine their destiny with a strong presence in the region.
Biden admin ditches May obligation to withdraw troops from Afghanistan https://t.co/MQJ2GXveb4
— Press TV (@PressTV) January 29, 2021
In response to these statements, Sher Mohamad Abas Stanikzai, a political leader of the Taliban, on Friday emphasized the need for the departure of U.S. troops from his country. "It is a good opportunity for the United States...it benefits them because we provide a safe passage for the withdrawal of U.S. forces," he made clear.
The U.S. and Taliban signed a peace agreement on February 29, 2020, for the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. According to the pact, the U.S. will reduce the presence of its military to 8,600 troops.
After 19 years of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, insecurity continues to reign in Afghanistan and has contributed to expanding extremist groups such as Daesh.
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