President Ashraf Ghani said Monday he wants the next round of intra-Afghan talks to be held in Afghanistan as the people have the right to be kept up-to-date on progress around negotiations and on topics being focused on.
Addressing a cabinet meeting, Ghani said the Taliban are also Afghans and should therefore agree to talks to be conducted in the country.
He said “wherever they (Taliban) want the talks in Afghanistan, the Afghan government is ready to negotiate [there] with them.”
“We would prefer to hold the second round of peace negotiations inside Afghanistan,” Ghani said.
“If the Taliban claim themselves as Afghans and from Afghanistan; so why then do they refuse to negotiate on Afghan soil?” Ghani asked.
Ghani stated that Afghans could hold peace talks at a tent “even in cold weather.”
“It is not time to [demand] luxury hotels as pre-conditions to all. Is it not more important that all people witness how the negotiations are going? What topics do the talks focus on and why?” Ghani asked.
This comes during a three-week break that both sides called last week, following three months in Doha.
Despite having started talks on September 12, the talks soon hit a deadlock until two weeks ago when they made a breakthrough after agreeing on the rules and procedures.
