KABUL (SW) – Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar has expressed hope that Turkey’s readiness to hold the peace talks would prove a step forward in securing a ceasefire and reaching a political solution in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this following telephonic conversation between the Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. “Mr. Atmar praised Turkey’s readiness to host the next round of Afghan peace talks as a valuable and trusted friend, and stressed the need to increase contacts and consultations on the goals, agenda, participants and outcomes of the conference”, it said.
During his visit to Qatar on Friday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that a meeting on the Afghan peace plan will be held in Istanbul in April.
“Had a wonderful call with Turkish FM my brother HE @MevlutCavusoglu. Talked about our bilateral & multilateral engagements, upcoming @HeartofAsia_IP Conf (Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process) in Dushanbe & preparations for next round of #AfghanPeaceTalks to be hosted by (Turkey), a trusted & valued partner of (Afghanistan)”, tweeted Atmar after telephonic conversation with Cavusoglu.
On Friday, Cavusoglu said in the coming weeks the Turkish government would host a senior-level meeting between Afghan government representatives and the Taliban to help finalize a peace deal. He stressed that Turkey would also appoint a special envoy for Afghanistan to contribute to the process.
Analysts believe the peace talks in Doha failed to yield substantial results that was why the proposed meetings in Moscow and Istanbul are planned.
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