In bombshell, Trump says calls off secret Afghan peace summit

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he had called off a secret summit with the Taliban and Afghanistan’sleader, abruptly slamming the door on a year of diplomacy to end America’s longest war.

In a weekend bombshell, Trump said that he had planned previously unknown talks with the two sides Sunday in Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, but that the Taliban’s persistent, grisly campaign of violence made them untrustworthy partners.

“Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday,” Trump said in a tweet.

“Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great-great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations.”

“What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position? They didn’t, they only made it worse!” Trump said.

A US soldier and another service member from Romania were killed in a car bombing Thursday in Kabul — the latest major attack claimed by the Taliban even as they negotiated with a US envoy.

If realized, the summit would have been the latest high-profile, high- stakes diplomacy by the mogul-turned-president, who is fond of dramatic gestures.

Instead, his announcement by tweet ended a painstaking diplomatic process led for nearly a year by Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born veteran US diplomat who has been meeting with the Taliban in Qatar.

Afghanistan’s internationally recognized president, Ashraf Ghani, had been outspoken in his criticism of the shape of the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, who have refused to negotiate with his government.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
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