Baku. 6 February. REPORT.AZ/ The Taliban have claimed America will withdraw half of its troops from Afghanistan by April, Report informs citing the RIA Novosti.
The group's deputy chief negotiator, Salam Hanafi, also said that they will negotiate directly with Kabul once the US announces a complete withdrawal.
At talks last month, the Taliban agreed with the U.S. on the withdrawal of “all foreign troops from Afghanistan” and “that the soil of Afghanistan would not be used against them,” Taliban official Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said.
“Peace talks and sanctions are two contradictory concepts, they cannot go side by side with each other. It is imperative that these unsubstantiated sanctions and lists, which are used as a pressure tool, be removed and representatives of the Taliban can participate in peace negotiations in different places without obstacles," he stressed.