Kabul | The Taliban said on Sunday warned the United States that cancellation of peace talks would lead to loss of more American lives.
The Islamist group issued a statement hours after Trump unexpectedly cancelled planned secret talks with the Taliban’s “major leaders” at the presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland.
Donald Trump discontinued the talks after learning the Taliban’s responsibility in an attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, criticised Trump for calling off the dialogue and said US forces have been pounding Afghanistan with attacks at the same time.
“This will lead to more losses to the US,” he said in a statement. “Its credibility will be affected, its anti-peace stance will be exposed to the world, losses to lives and assets will increase.”
In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Afghan peace talks were on hold and Washington would not withdraw troops from the region until it was convinced the Taliban could follow through on any significant commitments.
Asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether Afghan talks were dead, Pompeo said, “For the time being they are.”
There are currently 14,000 US forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops in the country.
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