KABUL • The Taleban said yesterday that it was "way too early" to speak of resuming direct talks with Washington, a day after President Donald Trump suggested negotiations to end America's longest war were back on track during a surprise visit to Afghanistan.
The statement from insurgent spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sounded a note of caution after Mr Trump said during a lightning visit to Bagram Airfield that the Taleban "wants to make a deal".
"We're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," he told reporters during the visit to mark the Thanksgiving holiday with troops at the base.
His statement indicated progress, though Mr Mujahid's suggested roadblocks remain. "It is way too early to talk about the resumption of talks for now," he told AFP via a WhatsApp message.
In September, the US and the Taleban had appeared on the verge of signing a deal that would have seen Washington begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan in return for security guarantees.
It was also expected to lead to direct talks between the Taleban and the government in Kabul.
But that same month, Mr Trump abruptly called the year-long effort "dead", and withdrew an invitation to the insurgents to meet in the United States due to the killing of an American soldier.
"We were getting close and we pulled back. We didn't want to do it because of what they did," Mr Trump said at Bagram during a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, referring to the death of the soldier. "Since then, we've hit them so hard, they've never been hit this hard," he added.
Most observers agree that a political settlement is the only way towards a lasting peace in Afghanistan, and since September, diplomatic efforts to foster dialogue have continued.
The Taleban last week handed over two hostages - an American and an Australian - after three years in captivity in exchange for three high-ranking insurgent prisoners, a move seen as a boost to resuming negotiations.
About 13,000 American troops remain in Afghanistan, 18 years after the US invaded following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.
Mr Trump had earlier said he planned to reduce the number to 8,600, and later added "we can go much further than that", without giving details.
On Thursday, he also said that the war in Afghanistan "will not be decided on the battlefield" and that "ultimately there will need to be a political solution" decided by people in the region.
The insurgents have long refused to talk to Kabul, however, declaring the administration a "puppet" of the US.
A simmering political crisis over the most recent Afghan presidential election will not help.
The Sept 28 election has already been marred by a record-low turnout and bickering between the President Ghani, and his chief rival, Mr Abdullah Abdullah.
Two months later, election officials have not yet released even a preliminary count. Without a result, it is not yet clear whether it will be Mr Ghani or Mr Abdullah who eventually faces the militants across the negotiating table.
A ceasefire could also be part of the delay. "That would be a major shift in policy. Violence is leverage for the Taleban," tweeted the Wilson Centre's South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman.
Meanwhile, ordinary Afghans continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, with more civilians killed in 2018 than during any other year on record, according to the United Nations.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
