F.P. Report
WASHINGTON DC: US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday briefed media on the important global and regional matters.
While commenting on the visit of Special Representative for Afghanistan Khalilzad to Islamabad, Pakistan, he commented that Special Representative for Afghanistan Khalilzad visited Islamabad today, March 8th, where he met with Pakistani officials, including the Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa.
In those discussions, Ambassador Khalilzad thanked Pakistani counterparts for their assistance and asked for Pakistan’s continued commitment to the peace process, he said.
Ambassador Khalilzad’s trip to the region, his first after – since January 20th, represents a continuation of American diplomacy in the region, adding that we are working with the international community, including in Pakistan; including the actors in Doha, where Ambassador Khalilzad has been in Kabul, where he with our partners in Kabul encourage progress on the Afghan peace process, including progress towards a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire, the official press statement added.
This was in many the goal of the last administration. This is the goal that we continue to work towards today. This is precisely the set of issues that Ambassador Khalilzad and his team have been discussing, spokesperson stated.
He further added that, all ideas and proposals are on the table, saying that we understand that this process at its core must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. He also stated that “What Ambassador Khalilzad understands, what his team understands, what this administration understands and requires is the knowledge that it is ultimately the right and responsibility of Afghans to determine their political future”.
The United States has a support role to play. The international community needs to support that process, needs to be constructive, Ned Price remarked.
We seek to bestow upon all our initiatives, whether it’s in Afghanistan or anywhere else, the greatest chance for success. And oftentimes that success, and at least in the first instance, some degree of private back and forth oftentimes do go hand in hand, he stated.
He further remarked that, United States has sought out ideas to advance the prospects for peace, the prospects to galvanize a durable peace, and again, a durable peace that must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.
We are trying to support and doing everything we can to support the parties, doing everything we can to bring our international allies, to bring our international partners, to bring others in the region together to make clear that all of us have a stake in Afghanistan’s future security, stability, ensuring the durability of the gains, including the important gains for women and girls that have been achieved in recent years, Ned Price mentioned.
It is a priority for this administration that we engage in constructive diplomacy to try and bring about our ultimate goal, the spokesperson mentioned.
The official spokesperson also underlined that, “We have continued to encourage all sides to take part constructively and with a degree of alacrity, knowing that this is a moment in time where progress is possible”.
He also added that, “We want to do everything we can to facilitate that progress, to support the dialogue, the inter-Afghan dialogue, between the various parties”.
US is are looking at ways and we are supporting efforts that would allow the negotiating parties to arrive at a peace process, including a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire that is just and durable, the spokesperson highlighted.
We’ll continue to work closely with President Ghani, with Chairman Abdullah. It’s also important that we have a unified approach from the Afghan Government interlocutors, he added.
Ned Price further commented that, “We are supporting and encouraging all sides to take advantage of this moment.
That includes the Taliban negotiators, and that includes the Islamic Republic negotiators as well”.
He further commented on the recent attacks by Houthis, stating that There is an investigation ongoing, so we’ll defer to that investigation”, adding that U.S condemns the egregious Houthi drone and missile attack against Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Dhahran and Ras Tanura and other civilian sites, including Khamis Mushait and in Jeddah.
These attacks are unacceptable. They are dangerous.
They put the lives of civilians at risk, including the lives of U.S. citizens, Ned Price remarked.
Other than this, he also remarked that, “We are and remain deeply concerned by the frequency of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Attacks like these are not the actions of a group that is serious about peace”.
We call on all parties to seriously commit to a ceasefire, to engage in negotiations under UN auspices in conjunction with our Special Envoy Tim Lenderking, who in turn is working closely with the UN’s envoy, Martin Griffiths, he stated.
The Houthis, in our view and in the view of our allies and partners, have to demonstrate their willingness to engage in a political process, adding that they need to, quite simply, stop attacking and start negotiating, and only then will we be able to make progress towards the political settlement that we’re after, press release added.
Moreover, the official spokesperson shed light over the Palestinian issue saying that we as an administration do indeed look forward to deepening our engagement with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership.
Mentioning that we are reviewing the diplomatic presence that you alluded to, adding that ‘We are ensuring that it will enable us to fully conduct our complete range of activities, including engagement with the Palestinian people, with the Palestinian authorities, public diplomacy, assistance, diplomatic reporting”.
We’ve talked about our commitment to for funding for Palestinians, including Palestinian refugees.
We are committed to all of that, the spokesperson remarked.
