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Biden meets Afghan leaders as U.S. troops leave, fighting rages

25 June 2021 23:12 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Joe Biden meets Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday to discuss Washington's support for Afghanistan as the last U.S. troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances, APA reports citing Reuters.

The Oval Office meeting may be as valuable to Ghani for its symbolism as for any new U.S. help because it will be seen as affirming Biden's support for the beleaguered Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in COVID-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul.

"At a time when morale is incredibly shaky and things are going downhill, anything one can do to help shore up morale and shore up the government is worth doing," said Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul. "Inviting Ghani here is a pretty strong sign that we're backing him."

Biden's embrace, however, comes only months after U.S. officials were pressuring Ghani to step aside for a transitional government under a draft political accord that they floated in a failed gambit to break a stalemate in peace talks.

Hours before the talks, Biden said on Twitter that he looked forward to the meeting and that "as the U.S. military drawdown continues, we affirm our enduring support for the Afghan people."

He has asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle COVID-19.

Biden will urge Ghani and Abdullah, foes in Afghanistan's two last presidential elections, "to be a united front" and he will reaffirm U.S. support for a negotiated peace deal, said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

U.S. officials, however, have been clear that Biden will not halt the American pullout – likely to be completed by late July or early August – and he is unlikely to approve any U.S. military support to Kabul to halt the Taliban's advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance.

Before heading to meet Biden, Ghani and Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, met at the Pentagon with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top U.S. civilian and military officials.

Austin reaffirmed continued U.S. security aid to Afghanistan, according to a pool report from the opening of the talks.

Speaking of a "new phase" in the U.S.-Afghan relationship, Ghani asserted that the "narrative of abandonment is just false," and that his forces have made "significant progress" even though the situation "presents challenges," the pool report said.

Earlier, the Afghan leaders met for a second day on Capitol Hill, where Biden's withdrawal decision met objections from many members of both parties.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, welcoming Ghani to a bipartisan leadership meeting, said she looked forward to hearing about what more can be done with U.S. humanitarian aid, especially for women and girls.

Many lawmakers and experts have expressed deep concerns that the Taliban - if returned to power - will reverse progress made on the rights of women and girls, who were harshly repressed and barred from education and work during the insurgents' 1996-2001 rule.