- Title: U.S. foreign policy under Trump's administration in 2019.
- Date: 19th December 2019
- Summary: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged the Taliban on Sunday (September 8) to end violence and talk directly to his government after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned meeting with the insurgent group over a draft peace accord. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) SPOKESPERSON FOR AFGHAN PRESIDENT ASHRAF GHANI, SEDIQ SEDIQQI, WALKING TO LECTERN AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE AFGHAN PRESIDENT, SEDIQ SEDIQQI, SAYING: "What the President has said, the President of United States in his tweet, so he has called off, so there is no talks right now, so we strongly believe that what he has said reflects the concerns that were raised not only in Afghanistan in Afghan capital, but also in Washington D.C. as well." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE AFGHAN PRESIDENT, SEDIQ SEDIQQI, SAYING: "We believed in the past that whatever was going on in Qatar after all those rounds of talks and negotiations for the ten months and more, we expected an outcome that could lead us to a ceasefire, that could lead us to a direct negotiation with the Afghan government and the Taliban. So unfortunately, so that's we didn't see. On contrary we saw and we observe that there could be risks to any process that the Afghan government is not the main stakeholder in that and any process that cannot guarantee a ceasefire, a halt to the violence could be harmful for all of the achievements that we have gained." Afghan residents on Sunday (September 8) expressed concern and warned that the decision to cancel peace talks by United States President Donald Trump will intensify the war in the country. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) MOSQUE IN DOWNTOWN KABUL / PEOPLE WALKING ON THE STREET VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT, MAISAM KAZIMI, SAYING: "The decision by Mr. Trump will increase the suicide attacks as well as attacks in the provinces, districts and on civilians. So, we are concerned about this and hope it's not going to happen." (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT, MEHR ULLAH, SAYING: "America never wants peace in Afghanistan, but they want the war in Afghanistan to continue because of their national interest. I urge the Taliban that if they have commitment and faith and really want peace in the country, they should come and negotiate with the Afghans." Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made a fresh call for peace with the Taliban on Monday (September 9) but insisted on a ceasefire, as he sought to regain a hold on the peace process following the surprise collapse of talks between the United States and the Taliban. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 9, 2019) (REUTERS) AFGHAN PRESIDENT, ASHRAF GHANI, ARRIVING AT DEFENCE MINISTRY CONFERENCE HALL (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) AFGHAN PRESIDENT, ASHRAF GHANI, SAYING: "The Afghan nation has already said that there are no limitations for the negotiations, but peace is not unconditional. But now, negotiations without ceasefire are impossible." FEMALE ARMY OFFICERS LISTENING TO SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) AFGHAN PRESIDENT, ASHRAF GHANI, SAYING: "We are ready for negotiations but if the Taliban think they can scare us, look at these warriors, they will respond to you (Taliban) and will break your back."
- Embargoed: 2nd January 2020 08:00
- Keywords: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Afghanistan Bagram air base Boris Johnson Britain's ambassador to the United States Kim Darroch DDAY Donald Trump Emmanuel Macro French President Macron Ivanka Trump Melania trump Queen Elizabeth Taliban US president WW2 attacks car bombs foreign policy 2019 leaked papers peace talks us service members killed
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA006BAO0B47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: FOREIGN POLICY 2019 CONTINUES IN EDITS:
0468-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 1
0469-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 2
0470-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 3
0471-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 4
0472-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 5
0475-USA-TRUMP/FOREIGN POLICY 2019-PART 7
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