Kabul hopes that the Taliban will also make optimum use of this opportunity to establish peace and put an end to violence in Afghanistan
@the_news_21
New Delhi: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Abdullah Abdullah, the Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), on the sidelines of the opening meeting of the first direct negotiations between the Afghan Government and the Taliban. The meeting between Pompeo and Abdullah happened a couple of hours before Afghanistan formally registered its participation in the negotiation talks with the radical Taliban.
According to a statement issued by Sapedar Palace, speaking at the meeting, Abdullah Abdullah assured Pompeo that peace is a priority for the government and the people of Afghanistan. “We have come here to put an end to war and conflict, and pave the way for fair and permanent peace in Afghanistan,” Dr. Abdullah said. Speaking at the meeting, the HCNR Chairman expressed hope that the Taliban will also make optimum use of this opportunity to establish peace and put an end to violence.
Sapedar Palace said that Washington considers the opening meeting of the first direct negotiations between the Afghani government and the Taliban historic, and expressed hope that as a result of these negotiations Afghans will achieve permanent peace and put an end to the years-long war and violence. Secretary Pompeo said that his country supports the people of Afghanistan and the efforts to establish peace and put an end to war and violence.
The opening meeting of the first direct negotiations between the government and the Taliban was held on 12 September in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The meeting was inaugurated with the opening speeches by HCNR Chairman Abdullah Abdullah; Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar; and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and State Minister for Peace Sadat Mansoor Naderi.
Following that, the foreign ministers of 13 Asian and European countries, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, Finland, Norway, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom delivered their speeches about the importance of these negotiations and peace in Afghanistan.
The Secretaries-General of the United Nations, NATO, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the EU’s foreign policy chief, also spoke at the meeting via videoconference.
Speaking at the meeting, the foreign ministers of the 13 countries announced their readiness to support the peace process in Afghanistan and considered the meeting a historic opportunity for Afghanistan. Moreover, most of them called for an immediate end to violence and the announcement of a cease-fire by both sides to ensure better progress in the intra-Afghan negotiations.
Protection of minorities’ rights, women’s rights, and the achievements made in the past 19 years are among other topics emphasized by the representatives of these countries and organizations.
