New Delhi/Washington, Jun 21 (UNI) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah will meet US President Joe Biden on June 25 in Washington.
The White House announced the upcoming engagement in a statement and said the visit by President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah will "highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues."
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Sunday, the United States "will remain deeply engaged with the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the US homeland."
Amid reports of increasing fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban, the statement said "the United States is committed to supporting the Afghan people by providing diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian assistance to support the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls and minorities."
The US began withdrawing troops on May 1 and wants to finish the pullout by September 11.
Psaki said the "United States continues to fully support the ongoing peace process and encourages all Afghan parties to participate meaningfully in negotiations to bring an end to the conflict."
But inter-Afghan peace talks pushed by the US have not yielded the desired outcome and the country has been wracked by increasing conflict and violence in recent weeks.
Ahead of the US visit, Ghani on Monday held talks with former president Hamid Karzai, former Mujahideen figures and leaders of political formations on building a consensus on the peace process.
The Taliban meanwhile said the visit of Ghani and Abdullah would be “useless”.
“They (Ghani and Abdullah) will talk with the US officials for retention of their power and personal interest,” reports quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying. “It won’t benefit Afghanistan.”
UNI SRJ SY 1809/1926