Trump talks with leader of Taliban

The conversation comes days after U.S. and the Taliban signed an agreement calling for a troop withdrawal.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he talked with a Taliban leader, days after the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement that calls for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and provides assurances that the country will not be used to launch attacks on the soil of the United States or its allies.

“I spoke to the leader of the Taliban today,” Trump said on the South Lawn. “We had a good conversation. We’ve agreed there’s no violence. We don’t want violence. We’ll see what happens. We had actually a very good talk with the leader of the Taliban.”

A short time earlier, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted: “The President of the United States Trump held a phone conversation” with Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Acknowledging a military stalemate after nearly two decades of conflict, the United States on Saturday signed a peace agreement with the Taliban.

The deal, signed by chief negotiators from the two sides and witnessed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, could see the withdrawal of all American and allied forces within 14 months and allow Trump to keep a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from “endless wars.”

But it could also unravel, if the Taliban and other factions of Afghan society fail to have successful talks plotting a political way forward for the country.

MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP The peace deal would allow President Trump to keep a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from “endless wars.”