Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on January 18 called for all Taliban factions to join peace talks with the Afghan government or risk being sidelined from any future settlement.
Speaking at the start of four nation talks in Kabul aimed at drafting a road map for an eventual peace deal with the Taliban, Rabbani said Kabul wants “all of the Taliban to join us at the table for peace talks.”
But he said “any delay in coming to the table will put the Taliban in a corner.”
He said that if the Taliban refuses to attend the talks, they would prove that their aim is not peace.
He said the people of Afghanistan “will not accept and trust a prolonged peace process with no results.”
The meeting in Kabul involves delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States. It comes a week after the delegates met in Islamabad.
Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
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