FURIOUS Russia accuses US of 'STRENGTHENING EXTREMISM' in Middle East – 'You fuel war'

The Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US military interventions had killed at least 68 people between December 2018 and January 2019. The Russian ministry added such actions “fuel the continuation of the war” and contradicted the peace process in Kabul. In a statement it said: “Periodic air strikes against civilians are categorically not combined with attempts to establish peace in this country and lead rather to the opposite result – increased hostility to the forces of the international coalition and the strengthening of extremist sentiments in Afghan society that fuel the continuation of the war.”

It added: “We call on the American side and the command of the NATO forces in Afghanistan to stop criminal actions against peaceful Afghans.”

US officials earlier this week said there had been “significant progress” in talks to end 17 years of war in the country.

Trump said negotiations “are proceeding well” but stopped short of ending military action.

The US President added on Twitter: “Fighting continues but the people of Afghanistan want peace in this never ending war. We will soon see if talks will be successful?”

Meanwhile US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told the New York Times the US had sketched the outlines of an eventual peace deal.

However, analysts said there was no sign that the Taliban had agreed to US demands.

A US State Department spokesman the talks had been “positive” but that no agreement had been reached.

The Trump administration has moved toward withdrawals of US forces after years of overseas deployments.

A US official said last month Trump has planned to withdraw more than 5,000 of the 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.

But Trump’s fellow Republican US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on January 29 offered legislation urging the US to keep troops in Afghanistan as well as Syria, although it was uncertain whether it would become law.

But he insisted the EU was to blame for its refusal to reopen talks.

He said Mrs May now realised the mistake made in agreeing to the backstop, which is designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland by keeping the UK in a customs union.

The architect of Brexit said there is now an “appreciation in Britain that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels have been talking down to and humiliating the Prime Minister of our nation, and we don’t like it”.

He added: “Many will say we are simply dealing with fanatics who are not prepared to be reasonable and make any sense of compromise.”

source: express.co.uk