US to Cut $1 Billion in Afghanistan Aid Over ‘Leadership Failure’ by Afghan Rivals – Pompeo

In response to the continued disagreement in Afghanistan between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah about which of them won the September 2019 presidential election, Washington has announced it will reduce its aid to the country by $1 billion and is prepared to cut another $1 billion in 2021.

“The United States is disappointed in them and what their conduct means for Afghanistan and our shared interests,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Monday statement about Abdullah and Ghani. “Their failure has harmed US-Afghan relations and, sadly, dishonors those Afghan, Americans, and Coalition partners who have sacrificed their lives.”

“We will also initiate a review of all of our programs and projects to identify additional reductions, and reconsider our pledges to future donor conferences for Afghanistan. We have made clear to the leadership that we will not back security operations that are politically motivated, nor support political leaders who order such operations or those who advocate for or support parallel government,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo indicated the US would continue its conditional withdrawal agreed upon with the Taliban militant group. He met with Taliban officials in Doha, Qatar, earlier on Monday.

News of the funding cut comes shortly after Pompeo made an emergency visit to Kabul to speak with both politicians, each of whom declared themselves president of Afghanistan earlier this month. Ghani, the incumbent, was declared the election’s winner by the election commission and sworn in for a new term on March 9, but Abdullah has said Ghani’s votes were stolen and threatened to swear himself in as president instead.

Sourse: sputniknews.com