Uzbekistan won’t accept Taliban’s return to power

KABUL (Pajhwok): Uzbekistan’s foreign minister believes there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and the Taliban must negotiate with the Afghan government.

In an interview with an American TV, Aziz Kamilov said: “We have different visions here in the region…. We must know about the Afghan crisis to which there is no military solution.”

He stressed Afghanistan must be an integral part of Central Asia, one single common region. “It is necessary to have a common regional and international approach towards the peace process in Afghanistan.”

Kamilov backed any format for negotiations, whether they take place in Doha, Turkey or elsewhere. He said Uzbekistan was the first country to establish direct contact with Taliban leaders.

“The question is what the political system in Afghanistan will be,” he said, promising Uzbekistan would not accept the return of a government like the Taliban’s regime.

“Of course, we cannot accept something which Afghanistan had in the 90s, an Islamic emirate of Afghanistan. But at the same time, we think this problem must be solved on the basis of mutual compromise between the government and Taliban and others,” he remarked.

Kamilov said the international community should encourage both sides to reach an agreement on peace in the war-devastated country.

sa/mud