Russia on Thursday hosted a peace conference for Afghanistan, in which international observers made a bid to bring government representatives and their Taliban supporters together to help kick-start the country’s peace process.
The gathering is the first of a three-day international conference ahead of a May deadline for the final withdrawal of US and NATO troops, a date set under a one-year-old agreement between the US and the Taliban.
Call for a ceasefire
Moscow’s attempt at mediation comes in the form of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, still sparking rebellion, stalled. Washington and Kabul are pushing for a ceasefire, while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the beginning of the meeting, “We hope that today’s talks will help achieve progress in inter-Afghan dialogue.”
The Moscow conference includes US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council, and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Representatives from Pakistan, Iran, India and China are also participating.
Moscow, which fought a 10-year battle in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback in Afghanistan as a mediator to feudal factions as jockeys with the US for influence in the country Has arrived.
Mr. Lavrov on Thursday urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to take a constructive stance and compromise, saying international participants should help create the necessary conditions to arrive at a deal.
“Lavrov said,” Afghan parties interested in national reconciliation can only reach peace through negotiation and agreement.
“It is important to sign an agreement that will serve the interests of all major ethnic and political forces in the country and determine the vector of its development.”
He stressed that it was important to reach a peace settlement amid the deteriorating military-political situation before summer, when fighting is likely to fluctuate.
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