EU calls for Afghanistan ceasefire as Esper visits

EU OFFICIALS on Sunday called for a ceasefire in Afghanistan, saying the breakdown in US-Taliban talks presented an opportunity to push for a truce, as the US defence secretary made an unexpected visit to Kabul.

US President Donald Trump last month declared talks with the insurgents “dead”, citing a Taliban attack that killed an American soldier.

Negotiations had been in the final stages for a deal that would have seen the US pull troops from Afghanistan after 18 years. Currently, the US has around 14,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Kabul on Sunday unannounced visit to meet with US troops and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

“I’m looking . . . to get a really good feel for what’s happening on the ground in Afghanistan, and to talk what the way ahead may look like as well,” Esper said, according to a Pentagon transcript.

Esper said that the military footprint could shrink to about 8,600 with no impact on counterterrorism operations.

“We think a political agreement is always the best way forward concerning next steps in Afghanistan,” he said.

But to the dismay of many Afghans and international observers, the deal included no immediate, comprehensive ceasefire, and rather would supposedly have paved the way for a reduction in violence and later talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Roland Kobia, the EU special envoy for Afghanistan, said the talks’ collapse provided a chance to push for a ceasefire which would, in turn, prove a l a r g e enough change i n Afghanistan for Trump to consider resuming negotiations.

“It’s the right moment and the right opportunity to maybe go one step beyond a simple reduction in violence and explore ways in which a ceasefire . . . will take place,” Kobia told journalists in Kabul.

“The idea is really to see how we can move the ceasefire idea forward instead of leaving it for later . . . There is an opportunity here today.”

In the meantime, violence in Afghanistan continues unabated. On Friday, at least 70 people were killed when a mosque in Nangarhar province was bombed.

“A ceasefire would be a token, a guarantee of goodwill and good preparation for the normalisation of these relationships,” Kobia said.

Afghanistan is in an uneasy waiting period following the first round of presidential elections on September 28.