Afghan government says elections first, peace deal after

An Afghan official says that the priority for his government is to hold national elections later this month — rather than reach a peace deal with insurgents.

Presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says Saturday that a legitimate peace deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban can only come after the presidential election scheduled for Sept 28.

U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly ended talks finalizing a deal with the insurgent group last week.

Afghanistan’s elections were widely expected to be delayed under any U.S.-Taliban deal. The Afghan government was largely shut out of the negotiations.