US Acting Pentagon Chief Says Hopes To Travel To Afghanistan 'Soon'

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2019) US Acting Pentagon chief Mark Esper told reporters on Wednesday that he hopes to visit Afghanistan in the near future.

"I hope to travel to Afghanistan sometime soon to get a report," Esper said. "I will be meeting with [US] General [Austin] Miller in the next couple days. And so I'll be able to get an update from him as well."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived for an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday. This was the first time Pompeo visited Kabul since the start of US-Taliban peace talks and just days before the seventh round of their crucial negotiations in Doha due to start on Saturday.

Pompeo told reporters that he expected the peace deal to be finalized before the September presidential election in the Islamic republic. He also noted that while the United States was prepared to remove its forces from Afghanistan, Washington had not yet agreed to a timeline for it.

The importance of the peace talks was highlighted not only by Pompeo's visit but also the Taliban's visits to China and Iran earlier in the month in a bid to gain support for its efforts from neighboring states.

The Taliban and the United States are trying to reach a peace deal, which envisages the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and assurances from the Taliban that the country will not be ever again used as a safe haven for terrorists who threaten Washington and its allies.

Washington has however stressed that it has been seeking a comprehensive deal, also focusing on a permanent ceasefire and intra-Afghan talks. The Taliban, in turn, have said that they are not discussing intra-Afghan talks and ceasefire with the United States.