Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah have reached a power-sharing agreement, bringing an end to a months-long political deadlock, a spokesman for Ghani’s office announced Sunday.
“The Political Agreement between President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has just been signed,” Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, tweeted Sunday, saying that under the terms of the deal, Abdullah will lead the Afghan government’s side of peace negotiations with the Taliban and his aides would be included in the presidential cabinet.
The two politicians had been at a stalemate since earlier this year, when Abdullah disputed the official results of the country’s September 2019 election and announced he would form his own government, throwing a wrench into ongoing U.S. peace talks with the Taliban.
The U.S. had grown increasingly impatient by the two men’s lack of progress, Reuters noted, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveling to Kabul in March to mediate and the State Department saying it would withhold $1 billion in aid if the two could not reach an agreement. It was not immediately clear whether the aid will be restored with the impasse broken, according to the news service.
Sticking points in the negotiations had resolved around Abdullah’s demand to control a major policy area such as foreign affairs or finance. Sources told Reuters that Ghani would not agree to either post, but could ultimately offer Abdullah control of Afghanistan’s interior ministry.
The agreement comes the same week Ghani said the Afghan military will pivot to an “offensive” posture after an attack on a Kabul maternity ward. The Taliban has denied any part in the attack but the government has treated the denial with skepticism, according to Reuters.
In a statement Sunday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo congratulated the two during a call and “noted that he regretted the time lost during the political impasse.”
“He reiterated that the priority for the United States remains a political settlement to end the conflict and welcomed the commitment by the two leaders to act immediately in support of prompt entry into intra-Afghan negotiations,” Ortagus added.