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Turkey to host Afghan peace talks from April 24

By AFP - Apr 13,2021 - Last updated at Apr 13,2021

ISTANBUL — Turkey said on Tuesday it will host an international peace conference on Afghanistan from April 24 to May 4, in a bid to jump-start faltering negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government.

The Istanbul meeting will come as the new US administration of President Joe Biden assesses its ability to meet his predecessor Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw all foreign troops from the war-torn country by May 1.

However, the Taliban when contacted said the group had still not completed internal consultations over whether to attend the conference.

The US is trying to add urgency to long-stalled peace talks that could finally see it end a military involvement in Afghanistan that began in response to the 2001 terror attacks on Washington and New York.

“The overriding objective of the Istanbul Conference on the Afghanistan Peace Process is to accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha on the achievement of a just and durable political settlement,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict.”

The conference is being co-sponsored by the United Nations and Qatar.

The Turkish foreign ministry said the talks would be between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban.

But Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told AFP: “We have not made a final decision in this regard.”

“The date cannot be set as long as we have not finalised our consultations [for the conference].”

Media reports had initially suggested the talks could begin on Friday.

A leaked US State Department report said Washington wanted the Turkey conference to approve a plan to replace the present leadership of President Ashraf Ghani with an interim government involving the Taliban.

 

‘Consequences’ 

 

The Islamist insurgents have already warned there would be “consequences” if Washington fails to meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline — a goal Biden described as “tough”.

Official Afghan sources said last week that Ghani intends to present a three-stage plan at the Istanbul talks.

The first step involves reaching a political settlement with the Taliban and announcing an internationally monitored ceasefire.

He then proposes holding an early presidential election in which the Taliban could take part to form a “government of peace”.

That would lead to a slew of development programmes across the war-scarred country and work on a new constitutional framework.

Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation — a separate negotiating body tasked with leading the overall peace process — is drafting its own proposal to be present at Istanbul after consulting different political parties and civil society members.

Even as diplomatic moves intensify ahead of the Turkey meeting, fighting between government forces and insurgents has surged, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties.

 

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