WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday at the White House where he called on Afghans to decide the future of their country as the last US troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.
Biden, seated beside Ghani and Abdullah in the Oval Office, called them “two old friends” and said US support for Afghanistan was not ending but would be sustained despite the US pullout.
“Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,” said Biden, saying the “senseless violence has to stop.”
Ghani said Afghan security forces had retaken six districts on Friday. He said he respected Biden s decision and that the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is entering a new phase.
“We are determined to have unity, coherence,” he said.
Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Ghani said the United States decision to withdraw troops was a sovereign one and it was Kabul s job to “manage consequences.”
He added that Biden had clearly articulated that the US embassy would continue to operate and security aid would continue and in some cases move on an accelerated schedule.
Abdullah said in a Reuters interview after the Biden meeting that stalled intra-Afghan talks on a political settlement to decades of strife should not be abandoned unless the insurgents themselves pull out.
