Joe Biden announced that the United States will complete the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on the 20th anniversary of September 11

The United States will complete the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on September 11, 2021, ending after twenty years a military engagement that began in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

The decision, which Biden is expected to announce on Wednesday, will keep thousands of U.S. military personnel in the country beyond the May 1 departure deadline that the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban last year, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Islamist insurgents have already warned that there will be “consequences” if Washington fails to meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline., a goal previously described as “difficult” by Biden. It is unclear whether the group will follow through on these threats given Biden’s plan for a phased out by September.

The United States was assessing the progress of the peace process between Kabul and the Taliban and the situation on the ground before ordering a withdrawal. While the NATO allies, who wanted to make a decision in February, they postponed the case pending action by the new US administration.

In order to coordinate the next steps in the country, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, on Wednesday requested a videoconference meeting of the Alliance’s defense and foreign ministers to discuss the future of the mission with the United States.

The military organization defends the usefulness of its training mission for the Afghan forces and, despite adjustments to its presence, It currently has 9,600 soldiers in the country, including 2,500 Americans, after the strong retreat from the United States in recent years.

Peace Conference in Turkey

The news is known the same day that Turkey has said it will host an international peace conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4.

“The main objective of the Istanbul Conference on the Afghanistan Peace Process is to accelerate and complete the intra-Afghan negotiations underway in Doha to reach a just and lasting political agreement “The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Istanbul meeting is co-sponsored by the The United Nations Yes Qatar.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the talks would take place between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the taliban.

“The conference will aim to help the negotiating parties to achieve a set of principles shared fundamentals that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap for a future political settlement and the end of the conflict, ”he said.

Media reports initially suggested talks could begin on Friday, but a Taliban spokesman said the Islamist group would not be ready in time.

“We are always thinking about the question of when or not to participate or not”, said to AFP On Monday, Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeem.

A report leaked by the US State Department said that Washington wanted Turkish conference to adopt plan to replace current leadership of President Ashraf Ghani with an interim government involving the Taliban.

Afghan official sources said last week that Ghani intends to present a three-step plan at the Istanbul talks.

The first step is to find a political agreement with the Taliban and announce a Stop the fire internationally supervised.

Then he proposes the holding of early presidential elections in which the Taliban could participate to form a “government of peace”.

This would lead to a series of development programs across the war-torn country and would work in a new constitutional framework.

The Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, an independent negotiating body established in 2010, is expected to come up with its own set of proposals after consulting various political parties and members of civil society.

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