Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Syria and Corona ... hot files Pompeo addressed at a press conference

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States has reached a historic opportunity to achieve peace in Afghanistan, and that all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan will sit together for the first time.

He added - at a press conference in Washington - that the United States will not reduce the size of its forces in Afghanistan unless a "de-escalation" agreement with the Taliban succeeds on the 29th of this month.

He stressed that the truce - which started four days ago and lasted one week - does not constitute a complete cease-fire, but the number of Taliban attacks has decreased dramatically, saying that "until now the reduction of violence is still successful."

"Tell the truth"
In the Iranian file, Pompeo called on Iran to "tell the truth" about the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, expressing concern over allegations of concealment.

He said the United States is deeply concerned about information indicating that the Iranian regime may have been preventing vital details about the disease in this country.

He added that all countries - including Iran - must tell the truth about the Coruna virus and cooperate with international relief organizations.

Pompeo noted that censorship in Iran is hurting the free flow of information about the Coronavirus, and is likely to harm the immediate response to the disease.

Russia and America
On the US elections, Pompeo stressed that the United States will take the necessary measures if Russia seeks to undermine the US presidential elections scheduled for this year, but he did not give any other details about the steps that the Trump administration might take.

"Interfering in our elections is unacceptable. If Russia or any other foreign party takes steps to undermine our democratic process, we will take a response," he added.

On the Idlib crisis, Pompeo indicated that Iranian and Russian support for the Syrian regime has led to a large wave of displacement, stressing that the Syrian regime will not achieve victory by escalating its attacks in Idlib, and President Trump stressed that we will cooperate with Turkey.