Afghan president ‘delighted’ with his relationship with new US administration

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 03 Jan 2023

Kabul: Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani has said that he is "delighted" with his relationship with the new US administration along with the approach of the international community to Afghanistan's future.

While giving an exclusive interview to BBC, Ghani said that there is a window of opportunity to accelerate the peace process in Afghanistan, following Nato's announcement that it has made no final decision on withdrawing troops.

“Nato's announcement provided an opportunity for "all parties to the conflict to recalculate and reach a conclusion that we've long reached, that use of force is not the solution,” he said.

Ghani also dismissed fears of a Taliban military victory in Afghanistan saying, "This is not Vietnam. The government is not collapsing."

The Afghan President further stated years of war have made everyone realize that the use of force is never an option.

"We must reach a political settlement," he said.

The present US presence in Kabul goes back to 2001 when the former’s army invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But the movement regrouped and by 2018 was active in more than two-thirds of the country, threatening the elected government.