The shock announcement came amid media reports suggesting that the US president and his national security advisor had major disagreements over the invitation of the Taliban to Camp David for peace talks. Trump, however, denied the reports, branding them “fake news,” while confirming that the peace talks are currently “dead.”
US President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter in order to announce that he had asked National Security Advisor John Bolton to resign.
The US president shed light on the fact that he “disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration”, without further specifying.
Trump said he would name a new national security advisor next week.
Purpoted Rift Over Secret Talks With Taliban
The groundbreaking announcement comes hot on the heels of US media reports shedding light on the purported disagreements between the US president and Bolton over a now-cancelled planned meeting of US officials with the Afghan government and the Taliban movement at Camp David.
While Trump slammed media reports, claiming that he “overruled” US Vice President Mike Pence and advisors on the Camp David meeting as “fake news,” he stated that the peace talks were “dead.”
On Saturday, the US president announced that he had decided to cancel “secret” talks with the Taliban leadership and Afghan authorities following terrorist attacks in Kabul that left dozens killed, including a US soldier. Trump accused the Taliban of attempting to “build false leverage” to “strengthen their bargaining position,” and said that “if they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway.”
The Taliban movement has slammed the decision, warning that “the Americans will suffer more than anyone else for cancelling the talks.”
Apart from the alleged rift over the Afghan peace talks, earlier media reports suggested that Trump and Bolton had clashed over the US policies on Iran and North Korea. While Bolton has been known for his hardline stance on Tehran, which has been described as “hawkish,” Trump has never ruled out a possibily of holding talks with the leadership of the Islamic Republic despite escalation.
