Trump wants India, Russia, Pak to fight Taliban in Afghanistan
Expressing dissatisfaction over New Delhi's decades-old role in the Afghanistan peace process, US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he wants the regional countries, including India, Russia, and Pakistan to fight the Taliban in the war-torn country. "Why isn't Russia there (in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban)? Why isn't India there? Why isn't Pakistan there?" Trump said, adding the US don't mind helping other nations.
Trump mocks Modi for building 'library in Afghanistan'
In his first Cabinet meeting of the year, the US President also referred to PM Narendra Modi for funding a library in Afghanistan, wondering who would use it in that country. "I get along very well with India and PM Modi. But he's constantly telling me, he built a library in Afghanistan. Library! That's like five hours of what we spend there," said Trump.
'We're supposed to say, oh thank you for the library'
"And he (Modi) tells me. He is very smart. We are supposed to say, oh thank you for the library. Don't know who's using it (the library) in Afghanistan. But it's one of those things. I don't like being taken advantage of," said Trump.
Other countries not doing enough in war-ravaged Afghanistan, alleges Trump
Trump cited India's efforts towards peace and development in Afghanistan, but alleged that the countries weren't doing enough in the war-ravaged country, and that they were taking advantage of US. Asserting that the Afghan war costs billions of dollars to the US, he noted that heads of countries have told him that they're involved in the peace process by "just sending some 100-200 soldiers."
'We're subsidizing militaries of other countries by billions of dollars'
Trump drew a comparison between the expenses being borne by the US and other countries in the Afghan peace efforts. "What other countries have done for the last long period of time is given us some soldiers and then talk about it like it's the end of the world. "And we are subsidizing their military by billions and billions of dollars," he said.
'We're talking to the Taliban and a lot of people'
When asked if India's role in Afghanistan was going to be security related, Trump, while talking to his cabinet colleagues, said, "We're going to be doing something that is right. We are talking to the Taliban. We are talking to a lot of different people."
Russia went bankrupt fighting terrorists from Afghanistan, claims Trump
"But here's the thing, because you mentioned India. India is there. Russia is there. The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there. The problem is it was a tough fight and literally they (Russia) went bankrupt," Trump said. "So you tend to look at other countries. They should be fighting," he emphasized.
