The United States urges the immediate start of intra-Afghan peace talks, while the U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation flies to Qatar to promote the peace process.
The U.S. State Department said Saturday (Sept. 5) that Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, departed for Doha on Sept. 4 and will be there to promote U.S. efforts to facilitate the immediate start of intra-Afghan peace talks.
Prior to that, AFP said Afghan Taliban negotiators had arrived in Qatar to begin peace talks with the Afghan government. A Taliban spokesman said Saturday (Sept. 5): “All members of our negotiating team have arrived in Doha. After some technical issues are resolved, negotiations will begin.”
The Afghan government, for its part, has also urged the start of peace talks with the Taliban. A spokesman for the Afghan Reconciliation Commission said, “The release of prisoners has been completed and there is no reason to delay negotiations,” but “the Taliban do not seem to be ready to negotiate. We expect the Taliban to be ready to begin negotiations.
In this regard, the U.S. State Department stated on May 5: “The Afghan people are ready for a sustained reduction in violence and a peace agreement that will end this war. Afghan leaders must seize this historic opportunity for peace. Important actions have been taken by all sides to clear the way for intra-Afghan negotiations to begin. Now is the time for negotiations to begin.”
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