No deal excluding Kabul to be enforced, says Ghani

kabul — Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday no peace deal between the Taleban and the United States could be finalised without involving his government as “the decision-maker”.

Ghani’s government has so far been shut out of the evolving peace talks between Taleban negotiators and US envoys to end more than 17 years of war, with the hardline Islamist movement branding his government a US puppet.

He made his remarks in a television interview as Afghan opposition politicians, including his predecessor Hamid Karzai, met Taleban representatives in Moscow.

“At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan,” Ghani told Tolo News, the country’s largest private television station.

“No power in the country can dissolve the government,” said Ghani, who added he was ready to “stand and defend our country”.

“Rest assured that no one can push us aside,” he said. With both sides hailing progress in talks in Qatar last month, US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is due to meet Taleban representatives there again on February 25. Ghani’s comments were some of the most extensive since he met Khalilzad in Kabul last week after the latest round of talks.

He said on Twitter early on Wednesday he had received assurances by phone from United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Washington’s commitment to an “enduring partnership” with Afghanistan. Their military partnership was “unwavering” and would remain until a lasting and inclusive peace was achieved, he said.

US President Donald Trump referred to the peace talks in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, describing the talks as “constructive” and that Washington would be able to reduce the number of United States troops and focus on counter-terrorism efforts as they made progress.

“We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement - but we do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace,” Trump said. —

At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan.

Ashraf Ghani, Afghan President