Peace needs support from all parties: Khalilzad

KABUL Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad says peace would require the support of all interested parties.

Currently in Doha for meeting Taliban representatives, Khalilzad wrote on his Twitter account: “As my team and I continue peace talks, I stepped away to have dinner with Uzbek FM Kamilov and Special Representative Irgashev last night.”

Peace would require the support of all interested parties and they welcomed the participation of regional countries in the process, the US diplomat wrote.

Suhail Shaheen, speaking for Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, said in an interview that neither a ceasefire nor intra-Afghan dialogue were on the agenda at this stage.

He told VOA: “There has been steady progress. But the talks are not completed yet. The talks will continue until we reach a conclusion.”

Shaheen remarked: “The only solution is through peaceful diplomatic means. An agreement through peaceful means would be better for both sides...”

The US was trying to “find pockets” where there was “sufficient agreement” that everyone could begin to move forward, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Iowa on Monday.

“I have a team on the ground right now trying to negotiate with the Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan, trying to find a way to achieve an Afghanistan that's not at war, that's not engaged in violence, that doesn't present a threat to the US…”

sa/mud