US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass met with Afghan press on Tuesday & discussed US support for peace in Afghanistan. Bass tweeted that “Afghans deserve to make their own choices about peace, including where they are prepared to compromise, where they are not prepared to compromise, & how to mend differences”.
Bass further added that a durable settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan can only come from ‘within Afghanistan, from Afghans themselves’.
He clarified that the US in Doha is in no way substituting for the Afghan government or the Afghan people in talking to the Taliban.
Bass noted that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is working to create the opportunity for Afghans to address those issues only Afghans can decide. “We are impatient to see this dialogue begin in earnest because of the yearning of the Afghan people for peace”, he said.
Bass finally emphasised that their goal is a settlement to the conflict that lis worthy of the sacrifices made by so many Afghan”, one that protects & preserves many of the gains of the last 17 years.
“Afghans want to move forward & build on progress they have already made”, Bass tweeted.
Bass’s comments come just less than a day after Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan proposed that an interim setup be instituted so as to break the deadlock effectuated by the Afghan government in the Afghan peace process.
