Afghan President Abdullah Abdullah, in a statement on Tuesday regarding US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo�s trip to Afghanistan, said "the trip provided an opportunity to resolve the current crisis, but unfortunately it was not taken advantage of."

President Abdullah said he appreciates the US cooperation with the Afghan people, and its efforts for the intra-Afghan negotiations aimed at lasting peace in Afghanistan.

He assured the people of Afghanistan that he sees negotiations as the solution for the crisis, saying "peace is a top priority for us while keeping the Afghan security and defense forces fully impartial."

On Monday, the US government announced an immediate reduction in its assistance by $1 billion this year because of the Afghan leaders� failure to agree on an inclusive government.

This comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo�s 7-hour visit to Kabul on Monday where he met with President Ghani and his political opponent Abdullah Abdullah, separately, and in a joint meeting. But the meetings ended without a result.

The US State Department in a statement said the United States deeply regrets that Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have informed secretary Pompeo that they have been unable to agree on an inclusive government that can meet the challenges of governance, peace, and security, and provide for the health and welfare of Afghan citizens.

The statement said that "the United States is disappointed in them (Ghani and Abdullah) and what their conduct means for Afghanistan and our shared interests. Their failure has harmed US-Afghan relations and, sadly, dishonors those Afghan, Americans, and Coalition partners who have sacrificed their lives and treasure in the struggle to build a new future for this country."

"Because this leadership failure poses a direct threat to US national interests, effective immediately, the US government will initiate a review of the scope of our cooperation with Afghanistan," the statement said. "Among other steps, we are today announcing a responsible adjustment to our spending in Afghanistan and immediately reducing assistance by $1 billion this year. We are prepared to reduce by another $1 billion in 2021."

The statement said that the US will also initiate a review of all of its programs and projects to identify additional reductions and reconsider our pledges to future donor conferences for Afghanistan.

SOURCE: Tolonews

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/14931

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