US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to express disappointment over the postponement of talks with the Taliban and to condemn the insurgent group’s recent announcement of a “spring offensive.”
Some 250 Afghan politicians and civil society figures had been due to meet with Taliban negotiators in Doha starting on April 19 for the so-called intra-Afghan dialogue. It would have marked the first time that Taliban and Afghan government officials sat together.
But the meetings were abruptly cancelled on April 18 amid disagreements about the size and composition of the Afghan delegation.
The State Department said in a statement that Pompeo called Ghani on April 21 and condemned the Taliban’s announcement of starting another offensive in the spring.
Pompeo also said that the talks present an important opportunity to advance peace.
“The secretary encouraged all sides to seize the moment and reach an understanding on participants, so that an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue can be convened in Doha as soon as possible,” the State Department said.
Taliban in a statement blamed the government for cancellation of the scheduled meeting by labeling it as formal peace negotiations between the warring Afghan sides. They claimed that it was agreed upon that attendees of the gathering could not represent the Afghan government and they could only express their personal views on Afghan issues.
However, the government side said that organizers of the conference, the Qatari government, contrary to previous agreement brought some changes in the list of participants on behalf of Taliban.
Before Pompeo, US special envoy for Afghan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad who held at least five rounds of talks with Taliban in Doha also expressed his disappointment over the conciliation of the meetings.
He said dialogue was and always would be the key to a political roadmap and lasting peace, stressing that there is no alternative for it. At that time, Khalilzad urged all sides to seize the moment and put things back on track by agreeing to a participant list that speaks for all Afghans.
The United States has been holding separate bilateral peace negotiations with the Taliban in Doha as part of a months-long peace push.
