spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says the military equipment that was left behind by US troops in August 2021 belongs to the Afghanistan government and will remain in their possession.
In an interview with CBS News, Balkhi emphasized that discussions regarding state assets are not resolved through unilateral actions, but rather through dialogue and engagement to identify mutual interests.
“People don’t make deals on the assets of their states,” Balkhi stated.
“They make agreements through dialogue and engagement to find spaces and areas of common interest.”
This comes after US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks that the military equipment should be returned.
Just hours before his inauguration, on January 20, Trump said that future financial assistance to Afghanistan will be contingent upon the return of US military equipment.
A 2022 report from the US Department of Defense revealed that the American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan includes 78 aircraft, 40,000 military vehicles, and over 300,000 firearms.
The equipment is worth an estimated $7 billion.
