A trilateral meeting of special envoys from the United States, China, and the Russian Federation was held on the issue of peace in Afghanistan as creative diplomacy moves on in the regional and international levels to end the stalemate in the Afghan conflict.
US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation who met his Chinese and Russian counterparts in Moscow later in a tweet said that the US expects the Taliban to agree on a ceasefire and help make this year of peace in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban say ‘a ceasefire is not part of the agenda.’ For us, peace is the agenda. The Afghan people have had enough violence & want an end to the war. The United States stands with them. I challenge Talibs to join other Afghans and work to make this the year of peace,” Khalilzad said in a tweet.
Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani says Kabul hopes that the efforts for peace in Afghanistan in regional and international levels will lead to the creation of a powerful consensus towards brokering purposeful peace talks between the involved parties in the conflict.
“The agenda of the meeting is about the peace process in Afghanistan. We warmly welcome efforts by the regional and world powers towards promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and we are confident that the outcomes of these meetings will lead to a powerful consensus in regional and international level,” Afghan foreign minister Rabbani said.
“I am fully confident that such approach guarantees peace and this is a major breakthrough as it provides assurance both to the Taliban and the Afghans in general that the big powers will no longer create obstructions and using it against the Afghans,” said Hajji Deen Mohammad, member of government-led national reconciliation council.
In addition, close sources to the Taliban have said that the unanimity of views between Russia, China, and the US is something the Taliban has been calling for.
“This meeting should give hope to the Taliban, because initially when the fight started against the Taliban, the Taliban were alone, but now other people in other countries are coming closer to the Taliban in terms of idea, I think this meeting will also be a matter of happiness for the Taliban as well,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.
The three envoys are expected to issue a declaration after the summit. It was the sixth meeting between envoys from Russia, US, and China on the issue of peace in Afghanistan.
