Trump’s chat with Taliban ‘very good’

Donald Trump has confirmed that he spoke on the phone with a Taliban leader, making him the first US president believed to have spoken directly with the militant group that harboured al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of US troops in Afghanistan.

‘‘We had a very good conversation with the leader of the Taliban today, and they’re looking to get this ended, and we’re looking to get it ended. I think we all have a very common interest,’’ Trump said yesterday. ‘‘We had, actually, a very good talk.’’

The call, which the Taliban said lasted 35 minutes, came days after the US and the Taliban signed an agreement calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan – allowing Trump to make progress on a key campaign pledge, and paving the way for all-Afghan talks on a new government to begin.

Asked if it was his first conversation with a leader of the Taliban, Trump replied: ‘‘I don’t want to say that.’’

Earlier, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that Trump had spoken with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a cofounder of the Taliban and head of its political office in Qatar.

‘‘The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah,’’ Trump said. ‘‘We had a good long conversation today and, you know, they want to cease the violence. They’d like to cease violence also.’’

The Afghan Taliban also released a statement, saying the phone call was about how both sides would implement the agreement. It said Baradar assured Trump that if the US honoured the agreement, then the US and the Taliban would have ‘‘positive bilateral relations’’.