A senior Afghan official accused the U.S. special envoy to his country, Zalmay Khalilzad, of “delegitimizing" the Kabul government by excluding it from peace negotiations with the Taliban and acting like a “viceroy.”
The longest round of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban has ended with "real strides" being made but without an agreement on troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on March 12.
The Taliban is using peace talks with the United States for "propaganda purposes,” Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah told RFE/RL, urging Washington to keep troops in the country until a formal settlement that includes Kabul has been signed with the militants.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for immediate talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, saying peace can only be reached through "comprehensive intra-Afghan dialogue."
The U.S. envoy who is meeting with Afghan Taliban delegates says the latest round of peace talks in Qatar have been put on hold until March 2 so that both sides can conduct "internal deliberations."
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has met with one of the Afghan Taliban's co-founders in Qatar as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to Afghanistan's 17-year war.
The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan has called on the Afghan government to create a "unified, inclusive, and national negotiating team" to join in peace talks with Taliban negotiators.
U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has called on Afghans to put aside their differences and unite as attempts to end Afghanistan’s 17-year war gain momentum.
Taliban negotiators say they will meet U.S. representatives in Pakistan on February 18 as part of ongoing Afghan peace talks, but a State Department official said the U.S. team had not yet received an invitation to the talks.
It is still not clear exactly what kind of nation is likely to emerge after the process moves toward a peace deal that Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan, says he is hopeful will be concluded before the presidential election in July.
Load more