President Trump has repeated an invitation to restore the huge air base, but the Taliban says we must engage without a military existence.
Posted on September 19, 2025
Afghanistan has rejected an invitation from President Donald Trump to the American army to return to the country and restore the Bagram Air Force Base.
An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that Kabul is ready to participate, but stressed that he would not allow the United States to restore a military presence in the Central Asian country.
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Trump said on Thursday that his administration was pressing the “return” in Al Qaeda in Bagram. The American president, who has long expressed his hope to restore the facility, indicated that his position is vital in strategic terms due to his proximity to China.
“We are trying to restore it,” Trump announced. “We presented it to the Taliban for nothing,” she complained, adding that Bagram “is completely one hour away from the place where China makes its nuclear missiles.”
However, Taliban officials rejected the idea.
“Afghanistan and the United States need to communicate with each other … without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan,” Zakir Jalal, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on social media.
He added that Kabul is ready to follow the political and economic relations with Washington on the basis of “mutual respect and common interests.”
Lying north of Kabul, Baghram, who hosted a infamous Prison, served as the US Army Operations Center during its occupation of Afghanistan.
Thousands of people were also imprisoned for years without charge or trial by the United States during the so -called “war on terror”, and many of them were I was subjected to abuse or torture.
The Taliban regained the establishment in 2021 after the American withdrawal and the collapse of the Afghan government.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his regret that the base had been abandoned, on the pretext that Washington should have maintained a small strength, not because of Afghanistan, but because of its location near China.
The latest statements came, and Trump confirmed for the first time that his administration is holding talks with Taliban officials.
During the weekend, Adam Bouhler, his special hostile envoy, and Zulaay Khalilzad, met the former American envoy to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki in Kabul. According to what was reported, discussions focused on American citizens detained in Afghanistan.
American officials have been weighing the possibility of re -establishing a Bagram presence since March, at least, according to reports by the American media CNN.
Trump and its advisers argue that the airport can provide a leverage, not only on security, but also allows the valuable metal resources in Afghanistan.
The United States does not formally recognize the Taliban government, which returned to power in 2021 after 20 years of conflict with the US -led American forces.
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