US President Donald Trump arrived in Afghanistan Thursday for a surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops and announced peace talks with the Taliban have restarted, a media report said.
Speaking at Bagram Air Base, Trump told troops that “the Taliban wants to make a deal. We’ll see if they want to make a deal. It’s got to be a real deal, but we’ll see. But they want to make a deal.”
According to CNN, Trump also held a bilateral meeting with the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani.
Following the meeting, Ghani tweeted that “both sides underscored that if the Taliban are sincere in their commitment to reaching a peace deal, they must accept a ceasefire. We also emphasized that for any peace to last, terrorist safe havens outside Afghanistan must be dismantled.”
Before leaving, Trump served Thanksgiving meals to some members of the military stationed at the base.
Before leaving, Trump served Thanksgiving meals to some members of the military stationed at the base.
Hopes for a peace accord between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan were dashed when Trump announced an end to formal talks in September 2019 after a Taliban-claimed attack in Kabul that killed a dozen people, including an American soldier.
Trump said at the time that Taliban leaders were to travel to the US for secret peace talks, but after the attack he called off the meetings and canceled the negotiations.
Last week, Trump seemed to suggest that negotiations with the Taliban were back on — months after the peace talks with the militant group collapsed.
“We’re working on an agreement now with the Taliban,” Trump said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “Let’s see what happens.”
“We’re working on an agreement now with the Taliban,” Trump said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “Let’s see what happens.”
It was his first trip to the country and his second visit to US troops overseas in a war zone following a trip to Iraq at the end of last year.
There are about 12,000 US troops currently serving in Afghanistan in a conflict triggered by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that has claimed more than 2,300 American lives and cost billions in taxpayer dollars.
