Pompeo says violence levels in Afghanistan 'unacceptably high'

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media prior to meeting with Kuwait's Foreign Minister in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 24, 2020. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan is "unacceptably high" as delayed peace negotiations get underway, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, adding that Washington has asked the warring parties to "stand back and indeed stand down."

Pompeo's comments, made in a virtual address to the IISS Manama Dialogue, an annual security conference, came two days after Kabul-backed and Taliban negotiators reached a deal in Doha to proceed with talks on a political settlement to decades of strife.