Monday, 31 January 2022 (YJC)_ Asking the Taliban to release a US soldier, the president threatened to negotiate for the Taliban's recognition.
US President Joe Biden on Sunday called on the Taliban to release an American soldier who was abducted two years ago and is believed to be the last American prisoner in Afghanistan.
Mark Freaks, a 59-year-old US Navy serviceman who had worked on US projects in Afghanistan for a decade, was abducted a month before the US 2020 withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020.
"Two years have passed since the abduction of this American soldier," Biden said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Threatening the safety of Americans or innocent civilians is always unacceptable, and taking hostages is a cruel and cowardly act.
He then threatened:
The Taliban must release Mark immediately before he can pursue his aspirations for legitimacy. This is non-negotiable.
Biden withdrew US troops from Afghanistan in a tumultuous retreat in August that drew sharp criticism from Republicans and Democrats, as well as from foreign allies, and diminished his popularity.
Earlier, Nicki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden had destroyed Afghanistan, saying Washington had no business with Russia.
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