The U.S. Secretary of State expressed hope that a national council of tribal elders would decide to release Taliban prisoners.
August 7. The amount of U.S. aid to Afghanistan depends on the behavior of participants in the inter-Afghan negotiations. This was stated in a statement issued on Friday by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
“Decisions and behaviors on both sides in the inter-Afghan negotiations will affect the size and scope of U.S. aid in the future”, – Pompeo said.
The U.S. Secretary of State welcomed the start of the Loya Jirga (National Council of Tribal Elders) meeting, expressing the hope that it would decide to release Taliban prisoners so that an intra-Afghan dialogue could begin.
On February 29 in Doha, the U.S. and the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) signed a peace agreement. According to the agreements, the United States, its allies and the coalition intend to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. The Taliban, in turn, guarantee that they will not use Afghan territory for actions that threaten the security of the United States and its allies. Prior to inter-Afghan negotiations for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, up to 5,000 Taliban supporters and up to 1,000 people held by the Taliban must be released as confidence-building measures.