Washington (CNN) The Biden administration has proposed to the Afghan government that they enter an interim power-sharing agreement with the Taliban in a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Ashraf Ghani. Blinken also proposed that Afghanistan's neighbors, including Iran, take on a greater role and warned that the Biden administration continues to review whether to withdraw US troops by a May 1 deadline set under the Trump administration. Despite ongoing talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban after a 2020 agreement between the US and the militant group, violence in the country has steadily increased. State Department spokesperson Ned Price declined to comment on the veracity of the proposal or the letter, which were first published Sunday by the Afghan news service Tolo News. A US official and another diplomatic source familiar with the letter said it was authentic.

Source: The Nation March 08, 2021 23:02 UTC