国际英语新闻:Trump says Pompeo to attend signing of U.S.-Taliban deal

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the signing of U.S.-Taliban agreement, which is expected to occur in the Qatari capital city of Doha on Saturday.

"If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home," Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

Trump also revealed that U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will issue a joint declaration with the government of Afghanistan without any elaboration on details.

Washington announced last week that a deal with Taliban is expected to be inked on Feb. 29 on the condition of successful week-long reduction of violence in Afghanistan starting from Feb. 22.

Peace talks between Washington and the Taliban began in 2018 but were suspended late last year following Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel.

The United States currently maintains 12,000-13,000 troops in Afghanistan, largely providing training missions to local forces.