The decision was made after Pompeo’s urgent visit to Kabul on Monday where he met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. They have both contested the result of September’s presidential election, raising the prospect of parallel governments as each declared themselves president of the country.
The failure to resolve the Afghan government crisis “disappointed” the United States, “harmed U.S.-Afghan relations,” and represents “a direct threat to U.S. national interests,” the statement says. The U.S. government therefore reduced the aid to Afghanistan by $1 billion this year and could also reduce it by another $1 billion next year, with the United States unwilling to support parallel governments, according to the statement.
Additional reductions of other programs and projects are also possible. The U.S. government “will initiate a review of all of our programs and projects to identify additional reductions, and reconsider our pledges to future donor conferences for Afghanistan,” the statement says.
On Tuesday, in a speech carried by Afghan broadcaster RTA, Ghani said the cut in aid would not affect key areas, and further discussions would be held to resolve the issue with Abdullah, according to Reuters.
“I met with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah ... and wanted to offer him a central role in the peace process and positions in the cabinet to his allies but he emphasized an amendment of the constitution,” Ghani said, adding the amendment was “impossible.”
Pompeo declined to detail how the $1 billion in aid cuts would be apportioned or whether he set a deadline to settle their dispute, or if there is any timeline set for Afghan leaders to resolve the government dispute.
The United States is ready to cancel the announced cut if Afghan leaders form “an inclusive government that can provide security and participate in the peace process,” the statement says.
“We are hopeful, frankly, that they will get their act together and we won’t have to do it. But we’re prepared to do that,” Pompeo said at the press conference.
However, the assistance of $15 million provided by the United States to Afghanistan to help the country in its combat with the CCP virus will not be impacted by the cuts and will be provided, the statement confirmed.
Pompeo also said that not only the current administration had been working for a long time with all Afghan leaders trying to convince and incentivize them to start negotiations, “the previous administration tried to do it for eight years and wasn’t successful.”
Pompeo also stopped at a military base in Qatar for a 75-minute meeting with Taliban officials, including their top negotiator, Mullah Baradar Akhund. The Taliban had largely reduced violence, as it had promised, and is “working toward delivering their team to the ultimate negotiations,” Pompeo said.