President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan has said Washington will seriously consider how the Taliban adhere to the Doha agreement and then decide how to move forward.
Speaking at an online programme sponsored by the US Institute of Peace on Friday night, Sullivan said the Taliban should have “serious talks, not fake,” with the Afghan government.
The adviser said that the Taliban should reduce violence. “The Doha agreement has set significant conditions for the Taliban, three of which are very important to us,” he added.
“The first is to seriously and permanently cut ties with terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda.
“The second is to significantly reduce the level of violence and contribute to ceasefire.
“Third, to enter into negotiations with the Afghan government in a real, not fake way,” Sullivan continued.
“What we’re doing right now, is taking a hard look at the extent to which the Taliban are in fact complying with those three conditions, and in that context, we make decisions about our force posture and our diplomatic strategy going forward,” Sullivan said.
“The previous government organised and supported negotiations between stakeholders in Afghanistan for a just and lasting political agreement to end the conflict. We strongly support the core framework of this move,” Sullivan said.
He also talked about the May 1 deadline to withdraw the remaining US forces from Afghanistan under the deal and made it conditional to meeting commitments.
