MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Kabul has no information about the United States’ plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan before May 1 in conformity with the Doha agreements between Washington and the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia), Head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Abdullah Abdullah said in an interview with TASS.
"I cannot give you a concrete answer because it not my decisions. It is up to the United States and NATO to decide. All I can say is that if peace is established or a serious progress towards it is reached, there will be no need in the presence of foreign troops," he said, adding that Washington has not yet informed the Afghan side when it is going to withdraw its troops from the country.
"Troops withdrawal is part of the Doha agreement and we know about that. But the agreement also sets forth a number of conditions: progress in intra-Afghan talks, fighting against terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda (outlawed in Russia), reduction in the level of violence. These conditions have not been implemented. We know nothing about the Americans’ decision concerning withdrawal of troops, but they are looking at whether the agreement’s terms have been fulfilled or not," Abdullah added.
The United States’ previous administration and the Taliban movement signed a peace deal on February 29, 2020 in Qatar’s capital city Doha. Under the terms of the deal, Washington and its allies commit to withdrawing their forces from Afghanistan in next 14 months. The Taliban, in turn, undertakes not to use Afghanistan’s territory to stage actions jeopardizing the United States’ and its allies’ security.
The intra-Afghan talks that have been held since September 2020 have been failing to yield even the agenda.
The current US administration has warned that it would take further decisions on Afghanistan, including on the withdrawal of US troops from that country, after it revises the Taliban’s implementation of its obligations under the deal.