Too Early to Discuss Pulling Out All US Troops from Afghanistan: Dunford

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that it’s too early to talk about a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

According to the Military Times, Dunford has told that any U.S. deal with the Taliban will be based on security conditions on the ground and the Afghan forces aren’t yet able to secure their country without help.

This comes a day after a Taliban spokesman said that they’re close to a final agreement with the U.S. negotiators.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman has said that Moscow is ready to be a guarantor of any peace deal for Afghanistan agreed between the United States and the Taliban.

On the latest development, it was reported that the U.S. and Taliban negotiators concluded their ninth round of talks began last week.

On Wednesday, Afghan Presidential Spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that the U.S. chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad is scheduled to travel to Kabul in the next two days to share the required information of ninth round of the talks in Doha with President Ashraf Ghani.

Mr. Sediqqi added that the Taliban have no other way to survive and get into a political life except to talk to the Afghan government.

“We are entering to negotiations from a strong political and military position,” Sediqqi said,” The Taliban must accept this fact.”

Ghani’s spokesman also said that the government will strongly defend the Republic system and holding the presidential election is a “red line”.