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DOHA (SW) – Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, on Saturday dubbed the latest round of talks with the Taliban as ‘best so far’.
In an exclusive conversation with Salam Watandar in the Qatari capital, the seasoned U.S. diplomat said notable developments have been made in the ongoing seventh round of talks, yet talks continue on some issues. Khalilzad said these talks would pause for two days amid an intra-Afghan dialogue at the same venue co-hosted by Germany.
“Struggling for peace in #Afghanistan – Germany supports dialogue and confidence building as prerequisites for genuine peace negotiations. #intraAfghanDialogue”, the German Foreign Office tweeted on Saturday.
A number of peace delegates told SW this moot would pave way for direct peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Separately, Waheed Umer, senior adviser for President Ghani on public and strategic affairs, said in Kabul on Saturday that progress has been made in the talks, and an initial peace deal with the Taliban was likely to be inked in early September.
ENDS
